


Sacrificed

by invisame



Series: The Hybrid's Witch [1]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-11-04 00:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 70,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17888042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisame/pseuds/invisame
Summary: The Hybrid's Witch: Book 1Cassidy Grimes was just a simple witch until the day her parents died in a car accident. She was saved for a purpose-to help the Original hybrid, Niklaus Mikaelson, break his curse. Cassidy spends the next seven years learning everything there is to know about the Original family and the curse.When she finally finds Niklaus and his brother Elijah-or rather, they find her-she discovers the task is more difficult than she imagined. The Originals have been around for a thousand years and Niklaus trusts no one, not even his own family.  But Cassidy will do whatever she must to see the curse broken, even if it means she must be sacrificed





	1. Chapter 1

I SAT IN THE rear of the dimly lit auditorium, my ankles crossed and my Converse-clad feet propped on the back of the seat in front of me.  The seats were worn, even threadbare in places, and the linoleum floor was scuffed and cracked. A strong citrus scent in the air told me it had been recently cleaned, but I could still detect a musty odor underneath. The college was small, poor—the kind of place that still put education above profit.

In other words, it was exactly the kind of place happy to get my call offering to add them to my speaking schedule. I had been booking one engagement at a time for the past six months, hoping each one would be the last. There was an end goal in sight and I hoped I wouldn’t have to traipse all over the country talking in Podunk schools waiting for the men I searched for to find me.

My fingers ran over the holes in my jeans as students shuffled in. Their sneakers squeaked on the floor and the murmur of their voices filled the air. None of them paid attention to me, which, honestly, was how I preferred it. Of course, my casual dress helped. Normally, I would have been in a dress suit to give my presentation and answer questions but my flight had been delayed. I’d barely had time to drop my suitcase off at the hotel and get to the college in time. As such, I pled embarrassment and convinced a professor to show the video in my place with the promise I’d stick around in case I was needed for questions.

 An impeccably dressed man moved into the row in front of me while giving me a nod and a quick smile. This was no student. Or professor for that matter. His suit probably cost more than the dean’s annual salary. No, he was definitely out of place. My eyes locked on him. I dropped my feet to the floor and straightened in my seat. Nervous flutters swarmed in my belly and I was unable to look away. The man undid the button on his dark gray suit jacket and glanced around as if searching for someone before taking his seat.  I felt woefully underdressed next to him. Conversations faded to an end as the lights dimmed further. Just before the doors shut, a tall, lean man slipped into the room and took the seat beside the one in the suit.

“Where were you?” The suited man’s voice was low and tight and I doubted anyone else heard him.

The new arrival glanced over with a smirk, flashing a dimple on his left cheek. “I was just grabbing a bite, brother. No reason to worry.” His English accent rolled through me, making those flutters start up again, for an entirely different reason.

The video began to play at the front of the room but my eyes never left them. For brothers, they couldn’t look more different. One was perfectly styled from top to bottom. His dark hair swept to the side and the suit had obviously been tailored to fit him. He sat straight in his seat with his attention on the front of the room. Only occasionally did he shift focus to his brother.

The other man leaned back in his seat, his legs crossed and his chin propped in his hand. He looked around the room, not interested in what was going on at the front. His hair was cropped short so it didn’t need to be messed with and he was in need of a shave. His eyes found mine and he smiled, giving me a little wave with the fingers of the hand his chin rested in. I glanced away, embarrassed to be caught staring, and heard him chuckle.  

My gaze turned to the front of the room and the images playing on the large screen. The narrator droned on about werewolf and vampire mythology as found in cultures throughout the world and throughout history. The information was interesting in its own right but the focus soon switched to a discussion of the Curse of the Sun and the Moon. Legend said that a curse limited the vampires’ power to the night and the werewolves’ to the full moon. Unlike most myths that twisted and morphed to fit with various cultures, the Curse of the Sun and the Moon stayed fairly consistent from society to society and age to age.

The video was mine, the research was mine and I had seen the damn video enough times, I could recite it in my sleep. I leaned back to watch the others in the auditorium. The brothers seemed particularly interested in this part of the presentation. As the video ended and the lights came up, a middle-aged man in a faded brown suit came out on the stage, clapping his hands. Professor Simmons, if I remembered correctly. “Wonderful. Just wonderful. I’m so delighted that our school had the opportunity to be involved in this tour. If you haven’t had the opportunity, make sure to check out the exhibits in the main hall as well. Are there any questions?”

I sighed in irritation as the first two questions were about things already discussed in the presentation, but that was typical. No one had an attention span anymore. The suited man in front of me raised a hand to get the professor’s attention and I feigned disinterest. “Yes, I was curious as to where and when this information was obtained? Particularly those parts referencing the curse.” His voice was clipped and elegant.

There was a slight hesitation as the professor looked around the room before answering. His eyes fell on me. I gave a him a smile and a small shake of the head. That question was better answered in private. “I’m afraid that information is not available at this time. Are there any other questions?”

No one else spoke and people began to move toward the exit.

“Remind me again why it is we came here?” The more casual brother stood and straightened his leather jacket. He wore a dark Henley and faded jeans. His taste in clothes wasn’t much different than mine, but I would bet good money he spent more on one shirt than I did on a whole outfit. With the lights on, I could see his hair was a light reddish-brown and his eyes were a pale blue. Both men were far too attractive for their own good. Or mine, for that matter.

My eyes darted to his brother as he answered. “I told you I wished to speak with the person responsible for the article I sent you.” He rose and buttoned his suit coat before running a hand down it to be rid of any wrinkles. Not that there were any. They wouldn’t dare. I doubted there was even a speck of dust on his shoes.

“Well, it would seem they are not here, brother. What now?”

I interrupted before they could devolve into a full argument. Standing, I placed my hands on the back of the seat in front of me, gripping it for support. “Perhaps I might be of assistance?”

Both men turned their attention to me and heat flooded my cheeks. I took a deep breath and told my hormones to calm down. I was here for a purpose and it wasn’t to get laid. Besides, if these were the men I thought them to be, they’d been walking the Earth for a thousand years. I doubted they found much of anything interesting anymore, let alone someone like me.

Mr. Perfect smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. He tugged on the ends of his sleeves. “I find that unlikely unless you happen to know where we might locate a C. Grimes?”

I held out a hand. “The C stands for Cassidy. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr.…”

“Smith,” he supplied after he found his voice. “I am Elijah and this is my brother Niklaus.”

Smith was a ruse, a fake name to throw people off, but this could be none other than the Originals. Finally. Two of the siblings of the Original family—the first vampires, turned by magic instead of blood. They were like super vampires. They still had to drink blood, but they could compel other supernatural creatures, walk in daylight and they were impossible to kill. I hoped they wrote off my racing heart as attraction instead of anticipation. I’d been searching for these two for a long time and they’d proven damned hard to find. Niklaus studied me with his pale blue eyes as if looking for some deception on my part. I gave him a small nod. They’d know everything soon enough. I just had to get them to listen to me first.

I shifted my gaze back to Elijah. “To answer the question you asked Professor Simmons, this project is the culmination of seven years’ work. The data was collected from several different sources. The information I was interested in was largely ignored by other academics but it was still there in their findings. I just had to dig for it.”

His eyes narrowed slightly and he still wore a false smile. “My brother and I wish to invite you to dinner to discuss your research in more detail. If you are available, that is. We find it quite fascinating.”

I bet they did. I had every intention of accepting, but I wondered whether it would be better to go someplace public or somewhere private. In public, they would be less likely to kill me before I could tell them everything but in  private we would be able to talk more freely. Then I realized it was unlikely to be my choice anyway. Not with these two.

“Sure. Dinner would be great. Let me grab my things.” My laptop was still hooked up to the projector and I made my way to the front to retrieve it. The weight of their gazes made my scalp prickle with unease. Turning to head back, I found Niklaus smirking and Elijah gripping the seat in front of him, making me wonder what exchange had taken place between them after I stepped away. 

“Shall we go?” Elijah said as I walked back to them.

With a nod, I led them out of the auditorium. I glanced back as we entered the main part of the building. “I need to check with the professor before I leave. I’ll just be a moment.”

Niklaus’s jaw tightened but Elijah merely nodded. “We will retrieve the car. Take your time.”

The conversation with Professor Simmons took longer than I intended. I’d merely wanted to make sure he had the address to send the exhibition pieces back to at the end of the week and had been roped into a conversation about my research. Fifteen minutes later, I made my way to the front. Elijah stood next to a black sedan. He smiled as he saw me and opened the door. I slid into the back seat. He closed the door then went around and got in on the other side. Niklaus sat in the front passenger seat next to the driver.

“Sorry that took so long. It’s never easy to disengage from conversation in a room full of academics.”

“That is quite all right,” Elijah assured me. “Our driver tells us there is a small restaurant not far off campus that has decent food. I hope this will be acceptable.”

I shrugged. “I’m not picky. I hope what I’m wearing is okay?”

The driver glanced at me in the mirror and nodded. Thank God. I didn’t need to feel any more awkward than I already did. Sweat coated my palms and I rubbed them on my jeans. I could do this. I’d been preparing for this for years. I just needed to remember to breathe.

The restaurant turned out to be a small casual steak house. The waiter escorted us to a table in the corner and the brothers took the seats that had their backs were to the wall. Nobody was going to sneak up on me with these two around so I took one of the other seats without complaint.

Once the waiter delivered our drinks and took our order, Elijah leaned forward. “So tell me, Ms. Grimes, you said your presentation was the result of seven years’ work. How old are you exactly?”

I lifted a brow. “I would think someone of your obvious manners would know better than to ask a lady her age.”

He smiled but said nothing else, simply waiting for my answer. Niklaus leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest and studied me, much as he’d been doing since we sat down.

“I’m twenty-four. I began my research shortly after leaving high school.”

“If you don’t mind my saying, you seem quite accomplished for one of your age.” Elijah tapped his fingers on the table as he looked me over.

I huffed a laugh. “That’s one way of putting it. I graduated high school a year early and took heavy loads all the way through college. When my parents passed, they left me enough money that I didn’t have to work while I went to school.”

We fell silent as the waiter brought our food.

“I am sorry about your parents.”

I shrugged. I’d had a long time to process what happened to my parents that night. The vampire studied me clearly expecting some other response, but I had none to give him. I couldn’t tell them it wasn’t their fault or not to worry about it as politeness would dictate I do. Instead, I just continued to eat.

After a moment Elijah cleared his throat. “Tell me, when did you first hear of the Curse of the Sun and the Moon?”

I leaned back in my chair as I took a long pull from my bottle of beer. It was a passable dark lager but nothing special. I watched Niklaus cut into his rare steak. “You’ve been very quiet, Mr. Smith. Does this topic interest you at all, or is it strictly your brother’s obsession?”

He took a sip of wine and tilted his head to the side, a smirk on his face. “Call me Klaus, love. And I am interested in the curse. Far more than my brother in fact. However, I find it extremely unlikely that you could possibly know more about it than either of us. Besides I don’t bother with niceties, I leave that to Elijah.”

“Niklaus,” Elijah snapped. “I apologize, Ms. Grimes. My brother can be rather blunt at times.”

I waved a hand through the air in dismissal. “It’s Cassidy. And I prefer bluntness myself most of the time, so if you don’t mind, I’ll ask _you_ a question. Exactly whose idea was it to create the curse in the first place? It’s quite a brilliant way to get everyone looking for what you seek.”

Elijah dabbed his mouth with his napkin. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t you, Mr. Mikaelson?”

Elijah went still, his face going blank and his dark eyes studied me. It unnerved him that I spoke so casually about things no one else should know. Klaus lunged toward me but my magic held him in place with a gesture from me. I prepared the spell long before we sat down. His jaw tightened and his face flushed as his eyes narrowed. Oh, the hybrid was not happy with me at all. Excitement and terror flooded through me in equal measure.

“What do you want from us, witch?” Klaus spat the words and a flash of surprise showed on Elijah’s face before it faded back to that blank mask. 

I locked eyes with the younger Original. “I want nothing from you but I think you will want to hear what I have to say.”

Klaus’s pupils dilated as he stared into my eyes. “You will release me.”

“I will release you,” I repeated in a monotone. Triumph lit Klaus’s features until I added, “when I’m finished. I can’t be compelled, gentlemen. Not even by the likes of you. So sorry.”

If Klaus looked furious before, it was nothing compared to how he looked now. His face was red in his rage and he actually trembled, doubtless with the desire to rip my heart out. Elijah, on the other hand, looked intrigued. I gestured to their plates. “You might as well finish eating.”

“I would, but I can’t move.”

“I have not restrained all your movement, Klaus. Only those actions which would harm me or allow you to leave. You can’t hear what I have to say if I’m dead.”

“I would be happy to live in ignorance,” he bit out.

Elijah frowned. “What is it you think to tell us that we do not already know?”

“There are things the Original witch kept secret about the curse placed on your brother.” While the Curse of the Sun and the Moon was as fake as they come, there _was_ a curse. Klaus had been born from an affair with a werewolf. When he was turned into a vampire and triggered the curse, he became a true hybrid. One of a kind and near indestructible. His mother placed a curse on him binding his werewolf side. He’d been trying to undo it ever since.

Elijah shook his head. “You will have to forgive us if we find all of this difficult to believe. We cannot simply take your word. We have acquired many enemies over the years that would not hesitate to use an innocent to get close to us.”

I pulled my phone from the pocket of my coat. “I was going to show you this later but I suppose, if nothing else, it will at least buy me time to explain myself.” I scrolled through the gallery until I found the picture I wanted and handed it over to Elijah.

His eyes widened as he looked between the picture and me. “Katerina.”

Klaus immediately quit struggling against my magic so I released it. He snatched the phone from his brother’s hand and glared at me. “Where is she?”

“That is not Katherine.”

“Impossible,” Elijah argued. “Who else could it be?”

I smiled, knowing I had them. “That is my little cousin. Elena.” My cousin was a doppelganger, a duplicate of the original girl sacrificed for the curse. Her blood was required to break the spell. Katherine was also a doppelganger but she managed to turn into a vampire before the sacrifice. She’d been running from the Originals’ retribution ever since.

Though they tried not to give anything away, I could see the interest in both of them. “Eat and I’ll talk.” Klaus laid the phone on the table beside him, as if afraid the image would disappear if he handed it back. Once they both resumed eating, I started talking. “Katherine had a child out of wedlock prior to meeting you. The child was taken and given away and Katherine was banished from her family and her home. Her travels led her to England, which I believe is where she met you, unless I am mistaken. That child is our ancestor.”

“As far as I know, Elena is still unaware of this. She’s was adopted at birth. Her birth mother was my mother’s sister. Right now, I’m just a family friend.”

Klaus studied me while I finished my beer. “If she is your cousin, why are you handing her over to us?”

“Oh, I’m not.” I could almost feel the irritation radiating off the men. “Perhaps we should finish this conversation somewhere a bit more private.”

“Of course.” Elijah pulled out his wallet and dropped several bills on the table. “Shall we adjourn elsewhere? Our suite, perhaps.”

I stood. “I need to go to my own hotel and freshen up first. My flight was delayed and I didn’t have time to do much before I had to go to the college. I can meet you shortly.”

Klaus snorted. “If you think I’m letting you out of my sight before I have all the information I need from you, you are sorely mistaken, love.”

I shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

The driver pulled up as we stepped outside.

“Niklaus, take Ms. Grimes to her hotel in the car. I will meet you back at our rooms,” Elijah instructed.

Klaus nodded once and grabbed my upper arm to steer me to the rear of the car. He opened the door and directed me inside and across the seat. He slid in behind me and shut the door. I glanced at him before turning to the driver.

“I’m at the Jasper Inn.”

We rode in silence to the hotel but Klaus’s eyes were on me the whole time.

Not a word was spoken as I led him through the lobby to the elevators. He hovered inches behind me like a predator stalking his prey. I could almost feel him breathing down my neck. The man was unnerving. I used my keycard to let us in when we arrived at my room. The moment the door closed, a hand closed around my throat.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

MY BACK IMPACTED WITH the nearest wall. I resisted the urge to cry out, not wanting to give Klaus the satisfaction and held fast to my magic. He wasn’t going to kill me, not yet, not before he found out what I knew and where the doppelganger was. And I needed the brothers to trust me. They were hardly likely to do that if I used my magic against them every time they pissed me off.

Klaus Mikaelson held me firmly, his face inches from mine. He was moments from completely vamping out. “You used magic on me, witch.”

The way he spat out the word witch made it clear he meant it as an insult. “I did.”

“I don’t like when people use magic against me.”

“I can see that.” My legs trembled and I probably would have fallen if he didn’t have me pinned to the wall. If I gave into my fear, he’d have control. I couldn’t allow that.

Klaus applied more pressure to my neck, not enough to keep me from breathing but enough that I would bruise. “Do it again and I’ll rip out your throat.” He abruptly released me, causing me to stumble forward before I could right myself.

I cleared my throat as I straightened. “Do not mistake me for some weak-willed witch that you can bully into doing your bidding, Niklaus. If you attack me again, I will defend myself.”

We stared at each other for a long moment. Neither of us wanted to back down but we needed each other. My throat ached but I’d be damned if I showed any weakness in front of this man. Finally, I moved past him and further into the room. “Give me a couple of minutes and we can go.”

I found a loose gray t-shirt with wings on the back in my suitcase. Rhinestones accentuated the pattern and added a feminine flair. Grabbing that and my cosmetic bag, I went into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door. I took a deep breath and held it before letting it out as I looked at myself in the mirror. A red handprint wrapped around my neck. That would be pretty in a couple of hours. Honestly, I was surprised that’s all he did. The hybrid was known for his horrible temper and impulsive actions.

I let my chestnut hair down and brushed it out before pulling a wash cloth off the rack next to me. I ran it under hot water then pressed the rag to my face and left it there for a long moment. Finally, I used it to wipe away my makeup and fatigue. I reapplied my foundation and lip gloss, frowning at the dark circles under my eyes that made my brown eyes look even darker. Maybe now that I found the Originals I’d be able to get a decent night’s sleep. I threw my hair back up in the clip. After changing my shirt and refreshing my deodorant, I put my military style jacket back on and opened the door.

The hybrid pushed past me and gathered my things from the counter, stopping only to bend over and snatch the dirty shirt from the floor. He shoved it all into my suitcase that was still on the bed. “If you want to make sure I didn’t miss anything, do it now. We aren’t coming back.”

I watched without moving. I didn’t need to check as I hadn’t had time to unpack. “Are you intending for me to stay at your hotel, or are you erasing all evidence of my existence?”

He smirked, flashing a dimple. “That depends entirely upon you, love.”

***

THE ORIGINALS’ HOTEL WAS a large, luxurious building—not that I expected anything less. Klaus carried my suitcase and I followed behind, the bag with my computer and grimoires hanging from my shoulder. The large, ornate lobby made me feel even more out of place than I already did. Klaus used his key in the elevator to take us to the correct floor. He opened the door to the room at the end of the hall and left me to follow. My eyes widened as I stepped in behind him.

The large suite had floor to ceiling windows on one wall and multiple doors leading off the main room. I assumed one was a bathroom and the two others led to bedrooms. My hotel room would have fit in the corner where the large bar/kitchenette sat.

“Niklaus, why do you have Ms. Grimes’ bag?” Elijah’s voice was carefully measured but I easily detected the irritation in it.

“We can’t have her running off now, can we, brother? She’ll be staying here for the time being,” Klaus answered, completely unbothered.

“And do you have an opinion about this, Ms. Grimes?”

I tore my gaze from the windows to look at the older Original, surprised he’d asked. His  eyes narrowed as he looked me over. “Cassidy. It’s Cassidy. And—”

He flashed in front of me, cutting off what I was going to say and making me jump. With one hand he tipped my chin back, and the fingers on his other hand brushed over the marks on my neck. I swallowed. He lowered my chin and searched my eyes as if looking for an answer to a question he hadn’t asked.

“Niklaus.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. His eyes never left mine as he spoke to his brother. “Explain.”

“Did you really expect I would allow her to use magic against me without consequence? You should know better.”

Anger flared in  Elijah’s eyes but he did not take them from mine. “It will not happen again.” It wasn’t clear whether he was informing me or his brother of that fact.

I smiled. “Don’t worry, Elijah. The hybrid and I have come to an understanding. Haven’t we, Klaus?”

Klaus approached with a glass of liquor and held it out to me. I stepped around Elijah to take it. At this point I didn’t even care what kind of alcohol it was. I desperately needed something to take the edge off. These two were intense.

“Absolutely, love.” He led the way to the sitting area in the middle of the room. I sat on one end of the couch and he lowered himself into the chair next to me.

“Ms. Grimes—” I shot Elijah a narrow-eyed look as he unbuttoned his suit coat and took the chair opposite his brother. How many times did I really have to correct him? He held up his hands in surrender. “I apologize. Cassidy, would you mind explaining how precisely you know that my brother is a hybrid? Like most of the things you have told us this evening, that is not exactly common knowledge.”

I paused mid-sip and lowered the glass. I shot a glance at Klaus to find him smirking again.

“That’s my brother, love. Never misses a thing.” He winked at me and leaned back in his chair as if wanting to see how I got myself out of this one. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he found me entertaining.

Another drink of scotch burned its way to my stomach. Leaning forward, I placed my glass on the table. “I’ll tell you everything, but let’s start with the curse.” I pulled my legs up so I sat cross legged on the couch. “Would you hand me my bag, please?”

He picked my bag up off the floor and took a cursory look at the contents before handing it over. I had two large, leather bound journals in my bag. My grimoires. One was mostly empty, with only a few pages of spells and info. The other was crammed full with scraps of paper and herbs peeking around the edges. This was the one I grabbed.

Setting the bag aside, I opened the book and flipped to the page marked with a ribbon. Both brothers stared at me expectantly. “When I was seventeen years old, I was in an accident with my parents.” I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. That’s a lie. It’s rare that I talk to someone I can tell the whole truth to.”

Taking a breath, I prepared to tell the true story of my parents’ death for the first time in years. “When I was seventeen years old, a man appeared on our doorstep asking for my father. Because my father was not an idiot, he never invited strangers into our home. He stepped outside to talk with the man but I cast the listening spell I used to eavesdrop on my parents. The man wanted my father to do a difficult locate spell and then help subdue the person he was searching for. My father refused. The stranger was disappointed but seemed to accept my father’s answer. I quit listening as Dad walked the man to his car.”

I leaned my head against the back of the couch and opened my eyes wide, trying to stave off the tears that were creeping up. I cleared my throat and ran my hand over the pages of my grimoire in a comforting gesture. Those books contained my whole life. “A few minutes later he came back into the house and grabbed his keys. He told my mother and I to come with him, that there was something we needed to take care of immediately. There was this old road by my house that was full of twists and turns. I hated driving on it at night because it wasn’t well-lit, but that’s the road he took. After several minutes, he started to cry which shocked my mother and me. Mom kept trying to get him to pull over and he kept saying that he couldn’t. Instead, he only seemed to go faster.”

My foot was bouncing but I couldn’t seem to make it stop. “I was terrified, every turn he took, every squeal of the tires had me grasping the seat. My father met my eyes in the mirror, begging me to understand, to help him. It dawned on me that he’d been compelled though I didn’t know how that was possible. One of the first spells he taught me was how to break a compulsion. I buckled my seatbelt and began to recite the spell. But I was weak then, unsure of my powers, and without a focus I wasn’t having much luck. His cries turned to sobs as he told my mother and me how much he loved us. Then he just kept saying he was sorry.”

A tear ran down my cheek and I swiped it away. I sniffed then continued the story. “We came to a particularly sharp turn and instead of slowing down, he floored the accelerator. We drove straight off the road. We were airborne for a moment before the car began to flip. Over and over again until I didn’t know which way was up. The front end came to rest shoved under a low tree.” I licked my suddenly dry lips and looked at my shaking hands. “The silence when we stopped moving was deafening. I was hanging upside down and stayed awake just long enough to realize the front was destroyed, crushed, and there was no way my parents were still alive. After that I blacked out.”

My glass appeared in my line of vision and I glanced up in surprise to find Klaus giving me a small smile. “Drink up, love. You’ve earned it.”

After giving him a smile of thanks, I drained the last of the alcohol from the glass. Klaus took it from me and went to refill it.

“You said your father taught you the spell to rid one of compulsion?” Elijah asked.

I nodded.

“So, he was a witch?”

Again, I nodded.

“Vampires cannot compel witches.”

I smiled. “Like I said the how was in question. The stranger was obviously responsible but at the time I didn’t know who he was. I was in a coma for five weeks after the accident, but it wasn’t a normal coma. I was on the Other Side. I learned a lot of things while I was there. One of them being the answer to that question.” As near as I’d been able to figure, the Other Side was the afterlife for supernatural beings.

I took a bracing sip of the alcohol Klaus had brought me. They weren’t going to like this. “Only Originals can compel witches.”

“Unless they’re on vervain,” Klaus muttered, causing me to smile.

“Good guess, but I’m not on vervain.” Vervain was an herb that repelled vampires. If it was worn or ingested the subject couldn’t be compelled. It could also be used as a weapon against them. Naturally, Klaus assumed I dosed myself with it because he was unable to compel me.

Both vampires’ eyes darted to me in surprise. “Then how?” Elijah asked.

“Also something I learned on the Other Side.” In actuality a spell was cast on me by several of my witchy ancestors. It wasn’t something easily duplicated as it required several witches of the same bloodline and if one of them died the spell went with them. As everyone that cast it on me was already dead, I wasn’t worried about my immunity going anywhere.

“My brother and I are the only ones of our siblings that were around at the time you’re describing and I certainly was not responsible,” Elijah said.

Klaus snorted. “You can’t blame me for this one, brother. I assure you I have more than enough witches at my disposal without hunting down new ones and killing them.”

I twirled the glass in my hands. “I believe you are forgetting one Original. Mikael was the man responsible for my parents’ deaths.”

Klaus hissed in a breath at the name. Mikael was their father and had been hunting his children for centuries. There was a long stretch of silence.

“He wanted your father to help find Niklaus.” It was a statement, not a question.

I nodded but still did not look up.

“Why did he refuse?” Klaus asked.

“My father made a practice of not getting involved in others’ vendettas. If you wanted him to find someone, he wanted to know why. But he didn’t ask Mikael that night. I can only assume he had a bad feeling about the whole thing.” I ran my hand over the open page in my grimoire before passing the book to Klaus. “Look familiar?” I asked. He studied me without answering before looking at the page I’d shown him. His eyes darted back to me then he handed the book to Elijah.

“This is from Mother’s grimoire,” Elijah said in surprise.

“It is, though she’s not the one that gave me the information. You can flip through if you wish.” The next several pages held information about both the real curse placed on Klaus and the Curse of the Sun and the Moon that they made up. “My life was spared so I could help break the curse.”

“You’ve already told us you are not giving us the doppelganger so how do you propose to be of help?” Annoyance colored Klaus’s words.

“To be blunt, gentlemen,” I said with a small smile, “your mother was a bitch.”

Elijah frowned but Klaus grinned. “You don’t say.”

“Your mother was thorough when she cursed you. While you need the blood of the doppelganger to end the curse, you also need it to make more hybrids. You can release yourself from the curse, but you will be unable to sire any other hybrids. You’ll be the only one of your kind.”

His smile faded and he searched my face for any signs of deception. His jaw set and he threw his glass across the room, shattering it on the far wall. I glanced between the brothers. “There is another way. You do need the blood of the doppelganger to break the spell. However, if the doppelganger is a willing sacrifice, or you can find a willing sacrifice of the same bloodline, their gift will allow you to make hybrids without the doppelganger’s blood.”

There was another long stretch of silence. I kept surprising them, it seemed.

“So you intend to talk your cousin into handing herself over willingly?” Klaus snorted, showing what he thought of that plan.

“Not exactly.”

“You intend to be the sacrifice?” Elijah’s tone of voice gave nothing away.

“It’s what I’ve been preparing for over the last seven years, so yes.”

Klaus’s brow furrowed. “Why would you sacrifice yourself for me? You know nothing about me.”

“I know more than you think but it’s not for you.” I took my grimoire as Elijah handed it back. “As I said your mother was a bitch and a short-sighted one at that. She didn’t give any thought to the long-term consequences of the spell or of using Tatia as the sacrifice.”

“And what do you know of Tatia?” Elijah asked.

“She’s the one that saved me. She claims to want to make amends for how she treated both of you.” I shrugged. Tatia had strung both brothers along when they lived, playing them against each other. The Original witch had used her as the sacrifice required for the spell in retaliation. “That’s what she says, but your mother’s spell has bound that entire line of my ancestors to the Other Side until the curse is broken so her help may be self-serving. Regardless, I have filled pages with spells learned from witches on the Other Side that hate your mother. It would seem she’s not any more well liked in the afterlife than she was here.”

I let the silence sit for a minute before I spoke again. “My time on the Other Side was spent learning not only about the curse and how to break it, but about your family. That is how I know Klaus is a hybrid. I also know what your family has been up to for the last thousand years. Well, a condensed version anyway. Speaking of…Klaus, do you wish to tell your brother what happened to your siblings, or shall I?”

Elijah made a sound of annoyance. “Don’t bother. I am already quite aware that Niklaus dumped our siblings into the sea to teach me a lesson about obedience.”

I looked at Klaus and raised a brow. While Originals couldn’t be killed by ordinary methods, there were a set of silver daggers. If the dagger was dipped in the ash from a white oak tree and placed in the heart, for all intents and purposes the Original would be dead. Until the dagger was removed anyway. Klaus had a history of daggering his siblings when they displeased him. Right now, Elijah as the only one not daggered and in a coffin.

He cleared his throat and turned to Elijah. “Actually, brother, our family is quite safe. I have been looking after them, protecting them from Mikael. I merely told you I dropped them in the sea to end your constant pestering.”

“Perhaps now, you can quit trying to figure out a way to kill your brother, Elijah.” I knew the statements would inflame both men, but they were going to find out eventually and they needed to quit working against each other. They were much stronger together.  They lunged for each other and slammed into a wall of magic.  

Klaus turned to me with a sour expression and clenched teeth. “If you would be so kind as to drop your magic, I would like to rip my brother’s bloody heart out.”

I took another sip of my drink, ignoring his demand. Both men had angry eyes turned in my direction. “You two need to stop fighting and start working together.” I locked eyes with Klaus. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t want to kill him if he told you he’d effectively killed the rest of your family.”

The hybrid glared at me, his jaw working. After a long moment, his stance eased and he moved back to his chair. “Fair enough, witch.” His smile and light tone of voice were meant to put me at ease but his eyes gave away his anger. He sat down and I shifted my attention to Elijah. He looked between the two of us before moving back to his chair as well.

I left my magic up as a precaution. “As things stand now, you have everything you need to break the spell except the moonstone. I have been attempting to locate it, but have thus far been unsuccessful. You also need a competent witch that you can trust to do the ritual.”

Klaus raised a brow at me and I huffed a laugh. “I may be competent, but we all know you don’t trust me. You just met me. Find a witch that can verify what I’ve told you. Besides, if I’m going to die, someone else will have to do the spell required to break the curse. As for myself, I don’t intend to stay dead. Like I said, I’ve been collecting spells. One of which is meant to bring me back to life.”

“So you aren’t entirely self-sacrificing?” Elijah asked.

“No. I mean I’d offer assistance where I could but like Klaus said, I don’t know him. Other than my dad, I don’t know any of my ancestors and he would kick my ass if I went into this without a way out.”

“That actually makes me trust you a great deal more to be honest.” Elijah looked at his brother. “What say you, Niklaus?”

The hybrid kept his eyes on his drink as he thought. Finally he said, “I’ll have Maddox look at the spells. And she stays with us until this is done. I don’t want to have to find her later.”

Elijah looked irritated but I held up a hand to stave off the argument. I’d honestly been expecting that. “It’s fine, but you’re going to have to pay to store my stuff or pay my rent or something. I won’t be working if I’m living with you. And I only have enough saved up to get me by for about a month.”

Klaus snarled, obviously still pissed about the magic. “Aren’t you a cooperative little witch?”

“The name is Cassidy. Not Ms. Grimes, and most certainly not witch.”

“I’m the Original hybrid, love. I’ll call you whatever I please.”

This was a battle of wills. A stupid battle, but I’d be damned if I let him win. If I let him walk all over me now, he’d never stop. “And I’m the witch here to save your ass so I suppose I’ll call _you_ whatever _I_ please, Niklaus.”

“No one calls me that but my brother, love.”

I made a small sound of agreement but said nothing else. In fact, I proceeded to ignore both brothers, instead flipping through the pages of my grimoire. After a moment, a soft laugh drew my attention and I glanced at the hybrid. “Fair enough…Cassidy. Elijah will show you to your room.”

It was a dismissal, but I was okay with it. It had been a long day. I gathered my things and Elijah took my suitcase to lead me to one of the bedrooms. Someone else’s bag was on the bed. “I don’t want to take someone’s room. I can sleep on the couch.”

“Absolutely not.” Elijah headed into the attached bathroom and grabbed some things. When he came out, he retrieved the suitcase and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him. “Good night, Cassidy.”

I sat in the middle of the oversized bed before casting the spell to enhance my hearing. Closing my eyes, I listened to the noise from the other room. For a long time there was no sound except for glasses being refilled and the rustle of clothing.

Finally, Klaus spoke. “Do you think it’s a trap?”

“Quite frankly, Niklaus, I don’t know what to think.” Elijah sighed. “I find it very difficult to trust anyone, particularly when it comes to the curse, but she knows things that no one should.”

“You don’t think Esther sent her, do you?”

He gave a small laugh. “Thinking our deceased mother is attempting to ruin your life from beyond the grave is paranoid even for you.”

“How does that saying go? It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you?” There was a pause. “I like the witch.”

There was a sound of agreement from the older brother. “Yes. It will be a shame if we have to kill her.”

“Maybe I’ll keep her when this is over.”

“She’s not a pet, Niklaus. You don’t just decide to keep her.”

“It’s never stopped me before.”

At that, I let my magic fade and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. I’d found out what I needed to know. The brothers weren’t going to kill me. At least not tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

WE TOOK A CAR to Klaus’s apartment in New York City early the next morning. They’d spent an hour debating where to go before making a decision. Apparently, they both had homes all over the world. Once I verified the doppelganger was in the states, that narrowed the options considerably. They then narrowed it further by eliminating any place not large enough for the three of us. Both brothers offered to house me, but neither trusted the other alone with me.

They finally agreed on New York because it was easy to fly out to anywhere and Klaus’s extravagant apartment had a rooftop pool and a small greenhouse where I could get closer to nature if needed to work my spells.

The three of us entered the apartment and Klaus stopped at a small table to flip through a stack of mail. Elijah proceeded further inside, obviously familiar enough with the place to feel at home. I lingered by the door, unsure what to do or where to go. I was in a strange limbo between guest and servant.

 A small woman with long, curly hair and caramel colored skin stepped into the hall with a large smile. She noticed me before she greeted Klaus. The smile faded from her face and she looked me over with pinched features. “Who is this?”

Klaus glanced at her before turning to me. He smirked. “Greta, this is my new favorite witch. Cassidy, this is Greta.”

He returned to what he was doing and the witch scowled. I gasped as pain lashed at me like claws slicing through my skin. My own magic flared out reflexively. Apparently, his witch didn’t like me being the new favorite. I pictured a hand wrapping around the girl’s throat and lifted her from the ground.

Klaus whipped his head in my direction when I gasped and then quickly turned his attention to Greta when she began to choke. “What is going on?” he snapped.

Elijah appeared nearby, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against the wall. He watched me, ignoring the fact Greta hovered in the air near him. Maybe he didn’t like her, either. “It would seem your witch decided to test Cassidy. I don’t think it turned out as she had planned.”

Greta clawed at her throat but she was in no danger of choking. I was too in control of my magic to allow that to happen, though I was tempted. Panic kept the other witch from fighting back, not that she’d have much of a chance now that I was prepared for her. Why was I not surprised that a witch that worked for Klaus would prefer to fight dirty?

“Put her down, Cassidy.” Klaus was furious, though I didn’t know if it was directed at me, Greta, or the both of us. I ignored him and continued to punish the other witch. She needed to be scared enough of what I could do that she wouldn’t attack me the next time my back was turned. “Cassidy,” he growled again. Definitely angry with me then.

As my own anger faded I became more aware of the searing pain in my chest and back. The witch had actually sliced the skin, not settling for just giving me the sensation. Son of a bitch, that hurt. It also meant I was now bleeding in front of two vampires. Hopefully, they were old enough to restrain themselves from making me into their next snack.

Elijah stepped between me and Greta, drawing my attention.  “That’s enough, Cassidy. She’s learned her lesson. It won’t happen again.” I looked beyond him to the woman dangling in the air and gave her another shake for good measure. The witch cried out. A hand rested against my cheek and my eyes jerked back to Elijah in surprise at the contact. “Let her go.” He was quiet, calm.

I pulled my magic back from Greta, letting her fall to the floor with a thud. As my magic faded, the full pain of my injuries rolled through me all at once. My knees buckled and only the two hands on my elbows kept me from falling. Elijah swept me into his arms and carried me to the living room.

“Not on the couch. I just had it cleaned,” Klaus called from the front hall and Elijah rolled his eyes. He shifted direction to take me upstairs.

“See to your witch, Niklaus,” Elijah told him as we walked past. “I’ll take care of Cassidy.”

As we reached the top of the stairs, I heard the sound of flesh striking flesh as Klaus smacked his witch. “Next time I’ll let her take your bloody head off.” 

I felt a twinge of sympathy but quickly suppressed it. She attacked me with no provocation. Elijah sat me on the edge of a bed before heading into the adjoining bathroom. When he came back, he had a glass with a small amount of dark red liquid in it. I took it from him and arched a brow in question.

“It’s my blood. It will heal you.”

I nodded once but twirled the glass instead of drinking. If I died with vampire blood in my system, I’d turn. Normally I wouldn’t be concerned but there was an angry witch downstairs that wasn’t too happy with me at the moment. On the other hand, coming back as a vampire was better than not coming back at all. I glanced at Elijah who just stood there with his hands in his pockets. “I don’t like that witch much.”

Elijah gave me a smile, the first completely genuine one I’d seen from him. “Neither do I. Drink up, Cassidy. It will be fine.”

I downed the liquid in three gulps. The blood was rich and coppery with a spicy undertone I hadn’t expected. I wrinkled my nose more at the texture than anything. Elijah nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave. “I’ll leave you to clean up.”

“Elijah,” I said, stopping him at the door, “thank you.”

After showering and disposing of my clothes, I curled up in bed with my grimoires, eventually falling asleep. I woke mid-afternoon when my stomach reminded me I was long overdue to eat. I roused myself and headed downstairs, my grimoires firmly in my grasp.

“Ah, there’s my favorite witch.” Klaus sat down the book he was reading.

“You should quit calling me that. It gets me in trouble.”

A man around my age looked over his shoulder from his spot on the couch. Another witch. He was pale with dark hair and dark eyes. 

“Cassidy, this is Maddox. Maddox, Cassidy.”

“I’m not going to have the same problem with you that I had with the other one, am I?” I asked as I headed in their direction.

Maddox shook his head. “I’m more level-headed than she is. And if you truly have figured out how to undo the curse, it’s no wonder you’re his favorite. Besides, that title tends to be passed around frequently.”

I gave a small laugh and held out the grimoires. “I assume I don’t have to tell you to be careful.”

“Of course not.” He took them carefully from my hands. “Thank you.” He immediately cracked one open and began to skim the pages.

Klaus watched the two of us intently.

“You have any people food around here?” I asked.

He shrugged and gestured toward the kitchen. “You’re welcome to look.”

Surprisingly, the refrigerator was well stocked. The witches must be around frequently. Fantastic. I made myself a sandwich and grabbed a soda before heading back into the other room.

Klaus had returned to reading but Maddox looked up when I sat in the other chair. “These are…incredible. I’ve never seen the like of some of these spells. Where did you get them?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Is she correct?” Klaus asked and we both looked at him. “Is she right about the spell?”

Maddox nodded. “From what I can see, yes. As long as this is a correct duplication of the original spell.”

Klaus went back to his book. He didn’t say anything but a smile lit his features.  

***

THE FIRST TWO WEEKS residing with the Originals passed relatively uneventfully. I thought a schedule would help me adapt so I got up at the same time, ate at the same time and meditated at the same time every day. It wasn’t long before the brothers joined me for meals if they were around. Maddox joined us a time or two as well. I saw Greta but got little more than a glare from the other witch as she passed by.

One evening as I sat on the couch watching TV and having a drink, the brothers came in. Klaus was raving about something as Elijah tried to calm him down. Maddox and Greta trailed behind, neither one looking happy. I muted the TV, not wanting to draw an angry hybrid’s attention if I didn’t have to.

Elijah rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “He can’t hide forever, Niklaus. We will find him.”

Klaus had been pouring himself a drink and launched the glass across the room. I wondered how much he spent yearly replacing things he broke during his tirades. “This is why I have witches. People are not supposed to be able to hide from me. But my witches can’t even seem to manage a simple locate spell.” His angry growl of a voice rolled through me and made me shiver.

“There was nothing simple about it, Klaus.” Greta’s tone was pleading and just short of a whine. “We had nothing that belonged to him. You can’t do a locate spell without some tie to the target. Not with any great success, anyway. You expect too much.”

He stepped closer to the witch until she was forced to tilt her head back to meet his eyes. His voice was quieter, deadlier. “Expect too much, do I? I wasn’t aware that expecting the people in my employ to be competent was too much. If the things I request of you are too taxing, Greta, consider this my invitation to leave.”

The woman said nothing as she dropped her head and took a step back. So she wasn’t a complete idiot.

Elijah put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We’ll put out word we are looking for him. Someone will contact us.”

Klaus downed his glass of liquor. “No. I don’t want anyone knowing he took from us.”

What kind of idiot steals from an Original? I took another sip of my drink as I debated what to do. Finally, I leaned forward and placed the glass on the table. “I can find him.”

Everyone turned in my direction and I realized they hadn’t even known I was there until I spoke.

Klaus tilted his head, his blue eyes wary. “What did you say?”

I lifted my brows. “I can find whoever it is you’re looking for.”

“Don’t listen to her, Klaus. She can’t possibly. She’s just trying to make us look bad.” Greta fisted her hands at her sides.

Klaus ignored her and turned to Maddox. “Well?”

The male witch shrugged. “I don’t see the harm in letting her try. The worst that can happen is she doesn’t find him either.”

“Klaus—” Greta began only to be cut off when the man in question snarled at her.

“I believe I told you to leave.”

We all watched her storm out of the apartment and slam the door behind her. Then Klaus focused on me. He smiled but the anger in his eyes outweighed whatever comfort he’d mean to convey. “What do you need, love?”

I stood from the couch. “Write his name and description on a piece of white paper. Other than that, I think I have everything in the greenhouse. Oh, and I’ll need some of your blood. Just a few drops.”

He nodded and began to jot the information I asked for down. I grabbed my newer grimoire and headed toward for greenhouse. The three men followed me. Once inside, I gathered a white bowl and two glass jars from the shelves along one side. I pulled a map of the local area from the drawer and handed it to Elijah. If he was further than that, I’d have to cast the spell again, but I hoped that wouldn’t be necessary. I sat in the middle of a large patch of grass in the middle of the floor. “Maddox, could you assist?” I indicated the space on the other side of the bowl.

He took off his suit jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and kicked off his shoes before sitting across from me. I opened the grimoire to the correct page and read through the spell before placing the paper with the name and description in the bowl. I gestured for Maddox to hold out his hand and I pricked the tip of his finger with a pin. Several drops from the wound fell into the bowl below. “Now you, Klaus.”

He stepped forward and pierced the tip of his finger with one of his teeth. He allowed a few drops to fall into the bowl.

From one jar I added lemon balm and from another a dash of cinnamon. Closing my eyes, I grasped Maddox’s hands and murmured the words to the spell, channeling his power as well as my own. My eyes snapped open as the paper began to burn. The scent of the herbs filled the air. The dagger I used only for spells was strapped to my ankle. I drew it and sliced a deep gash across my left palm. I squeezed blood into the bowl and deep purple smoke began to billow.

“Map,” I said. Elijah stepped forward and spread the map on the ground next to us. I upended the bowl into my bloody palm with a grimace then thrust my hand out sending blood and ash flying into the air. It landed in a neat circle on the map. The center was a small town about forty minutes away.

The three men watched me as I went to the sink in the corner of the room to wash my aching hand. I hissed in a breath when the water hit the wound. Over the next several days the wound would fester and burn, but that was the price for the spell. I jumped slightly when someone came up behind me. A hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me from the sink. Klaus stood there looking down at me with an unreadable expression. He bit into his thumb and smeared his blood over the cut in my palm. His eyes never left mine.

“Thank you,” I said after a moment, his blood already healing the wound.

He ran his thumb over my arm before letting go and walking away.

***

THE BED DIPPED BESIDE me, waking me from a sound sleep. A glance at the clock showed it was three in the morning. I rolled onto my back to find Klaus smiling down at me. “Need your help, love.”

I sighed, wanting to argue but just nodded. He wouldn’t have woken me if it wasn’t important. I wondered if they hadn’t been able to find the man after all. “I’ll be down in five.”

He left and shut the door behind him. I pulled a pair of jeans on with the t-shirt I’d slept in. I ran a brush through my hair and put it up in a messy ponytail. Still half asleep, I made my way downstairs. Klaus stood in the entryway.

“What’s going on?”

“We found William exactly where you said he would be. The problem is he took something from me and won’t tell us what he’s done with it. I’m afraid if I try to persuade him any further I’ll kill him before we get the answer.”

“What did he take?”

Klaus stayed silent as a muscle worked in his jaw.

I shook my head. “I’m not trying to get in your business but some things are easier to find than others. I need to know what I’m dealing with.”

“Information. He took information and I need to know if he acted on it.”

I blew out a breath. This would be unpleasant. “Let me put some shoes on and grab some things from the greenhouse.”

“Can’t you cast the spell from here as you did earlier?”

“I can, but it won’t work. Not without a ton of power and I’m not willing to die for your answers. He’s the only one that knows the answer to your question. I need him.”

I hadn’t thought it possible, but the hybrid’s jaw got tighter. “Very well. Retrieve your things from the greenhouse. I will find your shoes.”

Twenty minutes later we pulled up outside of a small warehouse. Lights blazed in the windows. Klaus exited the car without saying a word and I hurried after him confused by his change in attitude. Usually friendly with me, the closer we became to our destination, the more distant he’d grown.

He flung open the door to the warehouse and stepped inside, leaving me to follow. In the middle of the floor, a man sat tied to a chair. He slumped forward and was covered in blood. I glanced at Klaus who simply smirked. “Something the matter, love?”

The tightness around his eyes gave him away. He hadn’t wanted me to see this; this is why he’d grown more detached as we drove.

Greta stood behind the man’s chair, mirroring Klaus’s smirk and I frowned. “What the hell are you smirking at? I wouldn’t be here if you could do your job.”

The witch snarled. “Bitch.”

“Coward,” I retorted and she flinched. Most people thought magic had limits but those of us who practiced knew that wasn’t the case. Magic could do most anything one wished as long as the price was paid. However, most witches weren’t willing to pay the price for the stronger spells.

“Now, ladies.” Klaus chuckled. “Cassidy, if you please?” He gestured to the injured man as if presenting me with a grand gift.

I set my things on the floor before lifting the man’s chin with one hand. He wouldn’t be talking for some time. “I take it he has vervain in his system?”

“Yes,” Elijah said from behind me and I glanced back at him. “Normally we would just drain him and compel what we need to know, but time is of the essence.”

“How of the essence?”

“Very.”

I looked back to the hybrid. “What kind of shape do you need him in when I’m finished?”

He studied me. “If I get the information I need, I no longer have use for him.”

The spell to obtain the information they needed was not pleasant, for me or the person I used it on. I stepped into their memories, became them as I flashed through their pasts. If the other party cooperated the spell wasn’t nearly as difficult, but they rarely did. Nature didn’t like me mucking about in other people’s heads and punished me appropriately.  

“I told you she couldn’t do anything. She’s just pissing away time,” Greta snarled.

“Get rid of her please.” My eyes were still on the unconscious man. I would be vulnerable while I cast the spell and didn’t want the other witch in the room.

I pulled an old pocket watch and my knife from my bag. Using two fingers, I took some of William’s blood and smeared it across the face of the watch. I sliced my palm open again, thankful for Klaus’s earlier healing so I didn’t have to cut the other one. I pressed my bloody hand against the face of the watch before snapping it shut. Then I closed it in his hand before wrapping my own around it. “Don’t interfere.”


	4. Chapter 4

MY HEAD SNAPPED BACK and my awareness of the warehouse faded as I slid into William’s memories. Ordinarily, I would search only for what I needed to spare myself some effort and pain. But that took time. And specific knowledge of what I was looking for. Neither of which I had. I shuffled through the man’s memories as if I were frantically searching a filing cabinet, tossing aside what I didn’t need.

There. A flash of triumph. He’d found something. I delved deeper. An address? I followed his memories from that point forward, speeding them along as necessary. He sat in a car, wiping sweating palms on his jeans. He’d found her, he’d finally found the bitch after all this time. He’d been patient and this was his reward.

A young Hispanic woman with long dark hair like silk got out of a car in a driveway down the street. She bent down into the back seat and came up with a toddler balanced on her hip. They were beautiful, beautiful and his. How dare they think they could leave him? How dare _she_? Her life was his. She promised, said her vows. Then she ran. From him.

He exited the car and shut the door quietly. There was no sense in warning her now. Not when he was so close. He slid up behind her like a snake ready to strike. As she unlocked the door, he pressed the point of his knife into her back. When she tried to scream, he clamped a large hand over her mouth and pushed her into the house.

He shoved her again and she stumbled forward, falling against the couch. Her feet slid underneath her as she scrambled, trying to escape. He gripped her arm and spun her back to face him so he could enjoy her wide eyes and trembling lips. Her arms wrapped around the now screaming toddler as if she could protect it from him. Pathetic.

He sliced his knife through the air, cutting through the delicate skin of her cheek. She screamed and tears rolled down her face to mix with the blood. “Please.” She begged him, pleading for her life.

“You left me, Sofia. Till death do us part. Don’t you remember?”

I cried out and fell to my knees as he plunged the knife forward again and again, killing both his wife and his child. He stared down at their bodies, remorseless and unfeeling. Only satisfied that they’d finally gotten what they deserved for leaving him. I stayed with him as he cleaned up in a small bathroom before returning to his car and driving. He checked into a hotel in the small town I’d found earlier and waited for death to come.

And come it did, in the form of Klaus Mikaelson and his witch. But he told them nothing. He erased all evidence of her from their records. They wouldn’t know where to find her, where to even begin to look. She was just one in the midst of so many they kept track of. Let her and the boy rot.

The witch subdued him with magic. Painful magic that ran through me as I experienced the memory. Then they tied him to a chair and the vampire approached him with a knife and a smile. With a grunt of effort, I stopped the forward progression of the memories. Only then did I realize blood and tears both poured down my face. I ignored it and spun backward through his memories. Back, back, until I reached the moment he killed the terrified woman and her son.

I climbed to my feet, and placed my hands on either side of the bastard’s head. I twisted and warped his memories until he was the victim. I planted feelings of terror and desperation along with a sense of betrayal that he would die at the hands of one who had been hunting him for so long. Memories of being unable to protect his child from the threat, of failing to stop the inevitable end.  

He felt the pain of a blade slicing through tender flesh and organs. Only he didn’t die. No, he had to watch the child in his arms die as he too was stabbed again and again. Another twist of my magic and the memories started to play in an endless loop.  It was dark magic, black magic, and it hurt. It was agonizing, but it was worth every moment of pain. He couldn’t be allowed to just die. Not after that.

Finally, I pried my hands away and stumbled a few steps before dropping back to my knees. The impact shot through me though I barely noticed. I trembled violently and my hands were locked into claws. Pressing them against my chest, I bent over until my head touched the floor and screamed. I had known the pain would come, had known the price, anticipated it. Now I just wanted it to go away. Streams of hot tears ran down my face and blood still leaked from my nose. Make it stop. Oh God, please let it stop.

A warm hand settled on my back and tremors rolled through my overly sensitive nerves. “Cassidy?” Elijah’s frantic voice told me the hand belonged to him. I wanted to respond but it hurt. God, it hurt so much.  I sucked in a sharp breath and rocked back on my legs, pulling my head up from the floor. I managed to stutter out the address. Another hand cupped my chin and lifted my head. Klaus crouched in front of me and I looked at him through blurry eyes.

“They’re dead. He killed them both.”

He started to move away and I grasped his wrist to stop him. “Wait.”

His hand stayed on my chin even as he frowned and looked me over. William whimpered then let out an ear-piercing scream which made me jerk in surprise. Klaus’s head whipped to the side then back to me. My pain subsided enough I could straighten a little and Klaus moved his hand to my shoulder. 

“He will die over and over again in his head as long as his body lives,” I said. My voice was hoarse and my throat hurt. “Have someone cast a good stasis spell on him and that could be centuries.”

His eyebrows shot up over wide eyes. A flash of pain tore through me again and I lurched forward expecting to hit the concrete. Instead, Klaus pulled me toward him and wrapped an arm around me to keep me pressed to his chest. His hand ran up and down my back as I began to tremble again.

He barked a few orders, never removing his arm from around me. Finally, he stood and lifted me into his arms. I was vaguely aware of him still holding me as he climbed into the car. I laid my head against his chest and passed out. When I woke, I was on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Klaus wiped my face with a warm cloth. I started to drift away again but he put his arm behind me and sat me up. “Come on, love. You need to drink.”

He bit into his wrist and held it to my mouth. I held onto his arm with trembling hands and drank. After several swallows, I pulled away and laid back down. “Thank you,” I whispered. A hand brushed the hair away from my face as I went back to sleep.

When I woke the next morning, I blinked my eyes open anticipating the remnants of pain to have my muscles and my head aching. Instead, I felt better than I had in a long time and was certain I had Klaus’s blood to thank. I sat up to find myself in my own room. I glanced over to check the time only to find an envelope with my name on it sitting in front of the clock.

With a frown, I tore it open to find a check with several zeros and Klaus’s signature. Irritation flared through me and my hand clenched around the paper. I hadn’t worked the spell to get anything out of him. I sighed and rubbed my hand across the envelope in a feeble attempt to remove some of the creases I’d placed there. Obviously, the hybrid and I needed to have a discussion, but I wanted to get dressed first.

The thought made me realize I was not in the same clothes I wore to the warehouse the night before. My clothes had undoubtedly been dirty and bloody, but I wondered who had changed them. A quick shower, my favorite faded jeans and a worn t-shirt and I was ready to face the Originals. I snatched the envelope from the bed and headed downstairs.

I saw them sitting outside through the large glass doors and went into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. I had a feeling I was going to need it. I slid the door open and went out to join them. The morning was brisk but not uncomfortable though the cement of the patio was cold on my bare feet.

“Cassidy,” Elijah said sounding happy to see me. “How are you feeling?” Klaus said nothing, just watched me with a blank expression.

They had an empty chair between them and I claimed it, pulling my feet up into the seat to get them off the ground. I took a sip of my coffee before looking at either of them. I handed the envelope to Klaus as I thought about how to phrase what I needed to say. He appeared completely unsurprised that I returned the check to him, making me wonder if it was some sort of test.

“I told you it wasn’t enough money, brother,” he said, surprising me. I glanced from him to Elijah to find the older Original shrugging his shoulders as he looked off into the distance as if it didn’t matter to him.

I leaned forward and sat my cup on the low table in front of us. “Are you serious?” I said quietly, carefully.

“In regards to what?” Elijah said turning to me. “We meant no insult with what was offered if that is the issue.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” I ran my tongue over my teeth as I contemplated how to tell off two Originals without getting killed in the process. I clenched my teeth together, working the muscle in my jaw then turned back to Klaus who was studying me in confusion. “Did I ask you for money?”

His eyes lit in understanding. “There is something else you desire? That is easily arranged. Just name it. Your help was invaluable last evening.”

That brought me to my feet and I ignored the bite of cold against my soles. I turned on the brothers in a fine fury. “You don’t have to pay me off to get my cooperation. I helped last night because you needed something that I could provide. Not because I expected any sort of compensation.”

I raked a hand through my still damp hair and growled in frustration as they both stared at me with blank expressions. “Do you think that I would do that, that I would put myself through that pain, for money? My God, I tortured a man and told Klaus how to keep it up indefinitely. Yes, please pay me for that, it will make me feel so much better.”

I paced away from them then back. “I didn’t ask you for anything because I don’t want anything. I told you when we first met I want nothing from you. I had intended to politely decline the payment but you two pissed me off, so thanks for that.”

  I stalked back into the apartment. I made a beeline for my room and pulled out a bag to begin packing before it occurred to me I had nowhere to go. I’d given up my apartment and most of my things were in storage. After shoving my feet into a pair of tennis shoes, I grabbed the bag that held my grimoires and computer. I dropped my wallet and phone inside and marched out the front door, not even glancing to where the Originals had been sitting. I needed a break.

Several angry blocks passed before I slowed to appreciate my surroundings. This was my first time in New York and I’d spent most of it holed up in Klaus’s apartment. It wasn’t long before I realized I was being followed. My arms were crossed and pressed tightly against my chest in an effort to stave off the chill. I should have grabbed a jacket when I left the apartment.

Instead of continuing on, I searched with my eyes until I found the brothers watching from the other side of the street. With a jerk of my head I indicated for them to join me then began walking again. Within moments, they fell in step with me, one on each side.

“Where are we headed, love?” Klaus asked.

I shrugged. There was no destination in mind, just a need to keep moving. I shivered as a blast of cold air blew past us and Klaus tsked beside me.

He pulled me to a stop with a hand on my arm and turned me toward him. “Here.” He took off his jacket and held it so I could slip it on. The jacket engulfed me as I was enveloped by his warmth and his scent.

“Take me to your favorite place to eat,” I said suddenly.

He looked at me in surprise before smiling and hailing a cab. Honestly, I was expecting some ritzy restaurant somewhere. Instead we were dropped off in front of a little Italian place that had a small crowd out front waiting for tables. “Wait here.” He went inside, leaving me with Elijah.

“You’re quiet,” I said to the elder Original.

“Yes,” was the only response.

A little compulsion on Klaus’s part and we were seated next. The meal was simple Italian but it was delicious. It was also quiet, none of us knowing how to start the conversation we needed to have. When we finished eating I looked at Elijah. “Take me to your favorite place in the city.”

He paused, then nodded. Once again we hailed a cab and Elijah gave an address. This time we were dropped in front of a row of three-story brownstones. The Original walked up to the nearest one and pulled a key out of his pocket to unlock the door. After pressing several buttons on an alarm panel he motioned us to come in.

A smile split my face the moment I stepped inside. The entire front half of the home had been converted into a three-story library, complete with floor to ceiling bookshelves and rolling ladders. In the middle sat a leather sofa with several large pillows and a chair and ottoman. It was evident Elijah spent a lot of time in the room.

I took off Klaus’s coat and hung it on a hook on the wall just inside the door. After standing in the middle of the room and turning to get a good look at the hundreds of books, I made my way to the drink cart. I poured myself a drink then sat on the sofa, crossing my legs.

The Originals followed my lead. Elijah was the first to break the silence. “People don’t help us without wanting something in return. Niklaus in particular. It is not something we are accustomed to. We assumed it would be the same with you. We apologize.”

I shook my head. “I appreciate that, but honestly, I shouldn’t have gotten so angry. My life for the past several years has consisted of learning about your family and tracking you down. I feel like I know you even though we’ve just met. I forget you don’t have the same advantage.”

“I don’t like owing people, Cassidy. They usually turn up at the worst moment wanting to be repaid,” Klaus said though there was no venom in his voice. He was just stating a fact.

“You owe me nothing, Klaus. I helped you and you took care of me. I’d say we’re even.”

That night was a turning point in our relationship. I was no longer treated like a guest but rather like a member of the family. The brothers talked more freely in front of me and took me with them when they left the apartment. I often curled up with them to watch TV or read a book. And when the nightmares came, they made sure I went back to sleep, even if they had to invade my brain to do it.

***

TWO MONTHS LATER AND we had fallen into a comfortable pattern, but I grew frustrated. Despite several efforts with all of my locate spells, I still had not found the moonstone. The brothers continued to tell me it didn’t matter, that they had people looking and we would find it eventually. But it bothered me. The object was protected by strong magic if I hadn’t found it yet. I wasn’t used to failure.

One morning, Klaus was out but Elijah, Maddox and Greta were all gathered in the living room, flipping through old grimoires with me. We were looking for any locate spells that hadn’t been tried yet. Maddox and Greta sat in the two chairs while Elijah and I took the couch. Elijah sat on one end and I sprawled across the other two cushions with my knees bent and my head resting on the arm.

“What about this one, Cassie?” Elijah asked, using the nickname he and Klaus adopted for me. He held the book closer but I still couldn’t read the page. Too lazy to sit up, I put the grimoire I’d been flipping through face down on my chest and lifted my legs.

The Original moved over and I dropped my legs onto his lap. I scanned the spell he’d found.  I lifted an arm over my head in Maddox’s direction. “Sticky note.”

Maddox put one in my hand and I used it to mark the page before handing the book back to Elijah. “I’ve got one that’s very similar but that one’s a little different. It’s worth trying.”

He stayed where he was, resting the grimoire on top of me and wrapping one arm around my legs when he wasn’t using that hand to flip pages. We found a few more locate spells throughout the day, but I doubted any of them would bring new results. They were all too similar to things I had already tried.

I read through the last spell in the grimoire I was studying and sighed. Shutting the book, I set it on the table beside me. Elijah smiled, both his arms now resting on my legs. He glanced at his watch. “Niklaus wishes to dine out this evening. Do you have a preference?”

“Seafood would be lovely,” Greta piped up and I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t recall the invitation being extended to you, Greta. I was speaking with Cassie,” Elijah responded without looking at the witch, his smile transforming to a smirk.

“You know if you two would quit flirting with each other for five seconds, perhaps we would have had more luck finding the spell we needed,” Greta snapped as she got up from her chair.

We both frowned. We hadn’t been flirting at all. Well, no more than usual. Our relationship wasn’t like that. We were friends, family. We’d watched movies in the same position multiple times.

“Hello, Klaus.” Greta’s sticky sweet voice made my skin crawl and I realized instantly she was attempting to rile the hybrid. Stupid witch.

Elijah narrowed his eyes then leaned his head back on the couch. “Hello, Niklaus. Did you accomplish what you needed today?”

Klaus stepped closer to the couch so he was in my view. I gave him a little wave which he answered with a scowl. “From the sounds of it I was far more successful than you.” His eyes flicked between me and his brother and his jaw grew tight. I tried to move my legs and Elijah gripped them tighter. My eyes flicked down to him and he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. What was he up to?

“Greta. Maddox. If you don’t mind we have some family business to discuss.” Klaus kept his eyes locked on me and didn’t move until the door shut behind the witches. He came around to stand in front of us.

“Perhaps I need to remind you of your purpose here. You are here to help us end this curse and that is the only reason you are here. Do not allow yourself to become distracted.” His voice was sharp and his eyes were angry.

Anxiety churned in my stomach. The hybrid didn’t frighten me, not anymore, but I didn’t like when he was angry with me. Curse that witch. If she’d kept her mouth shut, Klaus probably wouldn’t have thought anything about our current position.

“Nothing to say for yourself, love?”

“What do you want me to say, Klaus? My eyes hurt and my head aches because I’ve been laying on this couch for God only knows how many hours looking through spell after spell. And I had to put up with Greta all day. Let’s not forget about that.” There was a snap in my voice, too but I couldn’t help it. The man infuriated me.

Elijah ran a hand back and forth along my leg. I didn’t know if the gesture was meant to comfort or calm, but it did neither. All it seemed to accomplish was irritating Klaus further. “You seem upset, Niklaus. What is the problem?” Elijah asked, the picture of innocence.

“The problem, brother, is that she was brought here to help _me_.” Klaus was yelling and I resisted the urge to cringe. “She wasn’t intended to be your whore.”

“Niklaus!” Elijah snapped and immediately lunged to his feet, sending my legs tumbling off the couch.

My heart skipped a beat and it was hard to breathe. He didn’t mean it, I knew he didn’t but God it hurt. Neither brother said anything as they stared each other down. I got to my feet, keeping my head down. “If you’ll excuse me, I don’t particularly care to go to dinner this evening.” My voice was surprisingly calm, giving no hint of the tears running down my face.

I hurried to the stairs to go up to my room. “Cassie, wait,” Elijah called and I ignored him, needing the solitude of my room. I shut the door behind me and locked it before climbing onto the bed and burying my head in one of the pillows. I did my best to ignore the yelling and crashing coming from downstairs as I wept. Eventually, the tears dried and I fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

IT WAS DARK WHEN I woke with a start from another nightmare. I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since I invaded that bastard’s head. Normally, this would be when I sought out one of the brothers. But Klaus called me a whore. My breath caught with the memory and I found myself fighting tears again. And Elijah had used me to get a rise out of his brother. I didn’t understand any of it, but I didn’t need to.

A glass of bourbon and a blanket on the couch sounded like a great alternative. I changed into pajamas and slid slippers onto my feet. Cracking open the door, I listened carefully for movement. Silence. I stepped into the hall, making as little noise as possible. Relief flooded me when I saw both men had their doors shut. I headed downstairs to the bar, leaving my door open behind me. There was no sign of their earlier argument.

I poured a glass of bourbon and walked over to the doors that led out to the roof. I eased the door open and slipped outside. The crisp night air ran over my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake while my breath left my lips in a fog. Though the sky was clear, there were few stars to be seen.

A glance over my shoulder told me I was still alone. Tears came to my eyes again, unbidden. Over the last several weeks, I’d grown used to not being alone. I had friends and family but none of them understood my life. Not since the accident. It had been freeing living with people I didn’t have to pretend with. But Klaus was right. I let myself forget why I was here. No, that wasn’t fair. My focus was still breaking the curse, but along the way I grew attached to the brothers. I allowed myself to imagine I was more important than I was. I was a means to an end—nothing more. I wasn’t their friend. I wasn’t their family. I was just a witch that didn’t belong here.

I needed to find the moonstone and free Klaus from his curse. I needed to find a new purpose, and I needed to do it now. The sooner I moved on, the better. I was already too attached to them as it was. After downing my drink, I placed the glass on the table and headed to the greenhouse. There was one more thing I could do, one more thing to try, but I’d been avoiding it. There was a spell that allowed me to travel to the Other Side where I could talk to long dead witches and learn their spells. Lately, it had become more difficult for me to return every time I went. I hadn’t attempted this in weeks, but desperate times, desperate measures and all that.

Stepping inside, I securely shut the door and kicked off my slippers. I stood on the patch of grass enjoying the feel of the tiny blades against the soles of my feet before I lowered myself to the ground. Closing my eyes, I rested my hands on my knees. After several deep breaths my body started to relax. I had cast this spell often enough my body would now do what it needed with no prompting from me. I slid into the Other Side.

It was odd and hard to navigate, but I’d learned most of its tricks the five weeks I spent there after the accident. I stood in the middle of the greenhouse but my surroundings had taken on a bluish tinge. My body still sat in the middle of the floor. I touched the ground and pictured the moonstone in my mind. “I need to find this object or a spell to help me locate it.” The message rippled through the Other Side and I waited for someone to answer my call.

Tatia appeared in front of me, making me take a step back. “Why are you here, Cassidy?” She glanced furtively around, jumping at every little sound.

“What am I ever doing here? I need help.”

“You must leave. Now. She knows what you’re trying to do. She’s furious.” Tatia wrung her trembling hands together.

I frowned. I’d never seen my ancestor like this before. “Who are you talking about, Tatia? Calm down.”

“The Original witch knows you are trying to help Niklaus. She’s won’t tolerate you being here. She’ll do anything to stop you.” She grasped my arm in her hands. The Original witch wasn’t someone I cared to mess with if I could help it. Somehow it didn’t surprise me that she was still trying to screw with Klaus from beyond the grave.

The chill that went through me had nothing to do with what Tatia had just revealed. Part of being on the Other Side was not feeling pain, temperature or anything of the kind. This was no natural cold. Frost framed the windows of the greenhouse. My body trembled and there was a blue tint to my skin. It was difficult to tell if it was the normal vision distortion from being on the Other Side or if my circulation had been impacted by the old.

Panic flared through me. “How long have I been here?” Time never passed the way it should on the Other Side and it followed no rules I could figure out. Sometimes hours seemed like days and other times what seemed like minutes was actually hours.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. This is her doing. You must get back before you are trapped here.”

I placed a hand on my head but nothing happened. Usually when I made contact with my body, I was pulled from the Other Side. Damn it. My body wasn’t aware enough to pull me back. At least the vapor clouds coming through my shaking lips meant I was still breathing. I needed help and I needed it now. I walked through the side of the greenhouse and headed into the apartment.

I went to Elijah’s room first and found him sitting in a chair with his feet propped on his bed. He wore a only pair of pajama pants. I stood beside him and screamed his name to no avail. I concentrated on my magic and tried to call up a breeze or something. Anything to get his attention. Nothing worked.

Maybe Klaus would be more sensitive to the Other Side. He wore much the same attire only he sat on top of his covers with his back against his headboard and a drink in his hand. Judging from the bottle on the table beside him he was drinking for more than to just take the edge off.

I screamed his name with no response and raked my hands through my hair before growling in frustration. “Damn it, Nik! Help me!” I only dared to use the nickname now that I knew he couldn’t hear me. I waved my hands through the air in front of his face. He lifted his glass to take another drink, moving through my hand in the process. He froze and moved the glass away from him, squinting at the surface.

My eyes widened and my heart raced. Or at least the shade of it I currently possessed did. Had something happened to the liquid in the glass?  I closed my eyes, concentrated and drew as much magic as I could to myself before swiping at the glass again. It flew from his hand and onto the floor. I breathed a sigh of relief. Klaus swung his legs off the bed and sat up, looking first at the glass then around the room.

“Elijah?”

Elijah was in the room in moments. “What is it, Niklaus?”

“My glass was just knocked from my hand. Rather forcefully. Any ideas?”

My eyes darted between the two. They were smart, they’d figure this out. Elijah walked out the door. “Cassie was not in her room when I passed by and there are no lights on downstairs.”

Klaus followed his brother. With a thought, I was back with my body, trying again to get in. The temperature had dropped further in my absence. Frost coated everything in spite of the much warmer temperature outside the greenhouse. There was even frost on my skin and hair.

 The greenhouse door flew open and I jumped. Klaus knelt in front of my body, grabbed the shoulders and shook me while calling my name. When I failed to come to, he slapped me across the face. With a gasp, I was back in my own body, never happier to be hit. My teeth chattered as my lips trembled. My frozen skin hurt to be touched.

Klaus’s jaw was tight as he stood, lifting me gently in his arms. I grunted in discomfort.

“I’ll start the shower,” Elijah said and zoomed away.

Shivers wracked my body and my teeth continued to chatter. Klaus gripped me more tightly against his chest and I reveled in the warmth coming from him. He sped to his room. True to his word, Elijah had turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature. Klaus didn’t skip a beat and stepped into the shower with me in his arms.

Heat flared through me and I sucked in a breath. “It’s hot. It burns.”

“It’s barely lukewarm, sweetheart.”

He sat on the bench in the shower and kept me positioned sideways across his lap. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled myself more tightly against him. As I grew used to the temperature, he leaned forward and adjusted the faucet, making the water warmer. Eventually, I stopped shivering, stopped feeling so frigid and relaxed against him. “I’m better now.”

He hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t release me. He bit into his wrist and lifted it to my mouth. “Drink, love.”

I tilted my head back to look at him. “I’m fine.”

He frowned and sighed before biting into his wrist again as the wound had closed. “Drink.”

I did as ordered, not wanting him to bite himself again. His blood tasted far better than it should and I licked my lips as I pulled away. Warmth flowed through me.

He stood me on my feet, keeping a hand on my arm until he was certain I wouldn’t fall. After he turned off the water, he stepped out and handed me a towel. “Dry off, sweetheart. I’ll get you something to wear.”

 I left my wet clothes in a pile on the floor of the shower. I dried quickly and wrapped the towel around myself before opening the door. Klaus stood there, smirking. “Here you are, love.”

I took the clothes with one hand and a nod of thanks. Closing the door, I dressed quickly in the underwear and pajamas he’d retrieved from my room. I padded into his room and sat on the edge of his bed, one leg tucked underneath me. He handed me a brush and I got to work on my hair.

“Start talking, before I start yelling.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and did as ordered. “I was asking for help locating the moonstone.”

“You’re going to have to clarify that a bit, sweetheart.”

He wasn’t going to like the next part. “I have a spell that allows me to travel to the Other Side. I’ve used it to acquire some of my more unusual spells. I thought maybe someone would know where the moonstone was or at least have a spell I haven’t tried yet.”

There was a long pause and I could feel his eyes on me, but didn’t dare turn to look at him. I brushed my hair as if it was the most important thing in the world. “I’m fairly certain your hair is untangled enough, Cassie.”

I set the brush on his nightstand but kept my back to him. I’d start crying again if I looked at him.

“Why did you feel the need to do this in the middle of the night without telling anyone?”

“A dream woke me and I went downstairs to get a drink. It just occurred to me to try.”

There was silence for a long moment. “Why did you not come get one of us? Or wait until tomorrow, at the very least?”

I shrugged. I was a grown, strong, independent woman. I didn’t want to admit that I’d come to depend on him. That I lived for the moments we spent together. I didn’t want to tell him that he broke my heart and I just wanted to escape from here. “After this evening, I think it best I find the moonstone as quickly as possible.”

“And why did you not come to me or my brother when your dream woke you?” he asked.

“I didn’t want to bother anyone.”

He sighed and I chanced a look at him. His arms were crossed over his chest while his blue eyes studied me. “You are never a bother, Cassie. In fact, you the least bothersome female I have ever encountered.”

I gave him a half-smile.

“We’ve been looking for the moonstone for five hundred years. Why the sudden urgency?”

The man was bound and determined to understand my motivation. I didn’t think telling him he was a dick would go over well. I was suddenly so tired. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I am not a vampire. I don’t have five hundred years. Neither does Elena for that matter. Besides, it’s clear I’ve overstayed my welcome. It’s time for me to go home, Nik.”

He sucked in a breath and his eyes flared. A slow smile spread across his face. “You called me Nik.”

My hand flew up to cover my mouth. I had. Damn it. “Sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“I liked it.” He changed his position on the bed so he could crawl toward me like the predator he was.

My heart raced and my chest grew tight. He was gorgeous like this. Hell, who was I kidding? He was always gorgeous. When he stopped moving, his face was inches from mine. I ran my eyes over his features. “You called me a whore. It hurt.”

His smile faded and my eyes didn’t leave his as I waited to see what he would say, how he would excuse his behavior this time.

He swallowed. “I apologize, love. Elijah was taking what was mine. I didn’t like it. I lost my temper.”

As far as excuses went, that was a damn good one. And he apologized. I wondered when the last time was the hybrid apologized to anyone. “Didn’t you ever learn to share, Nik?” My voice had taken on a breathy quality I didn’t recognize.

He tilted his head to the side and his gaze intensified. “I won’t share you, Cassie. Not with anyone.”

“Since when do I belong to you?” We moved closer, until only a breath separated us.

His lips brushed along mine in answer, once, twice. I leaned forward, trying to get closer, and he wrapped a hand in my hair to hold me to him. Our tongues danced as we nibbled, bit and fed at each other’s mouths.

We pulled back and looked at each other. “I take it you don’t want me to leave then?” I asked.

He smiled, flashing both dimples. “No. I don’t want you to leave, sweetheart.”

The sound of a throat clearing interrupted us and I turned to see Elijah leaning against the doorframe. My cheeks heated. “I hope this means I can quit attempting to make you jealous, Niklaus. I wasn’t sure how much further I could take things without getting my heart ripped out for my efforts.”

“Not much,” the hybrid growled making me smile.

“I just wanted to make certain you were all right, Cassie. Good night.” He left us alone, closing the door behind him.

***

A FEW WEEKS LATER, I sat outside on the roof, making some notes in my grimoire when my phone buzzed. I frowned as I picked it up. I rarely heard from anyone but Elijah and Nik and they were right inside. I had a text from John Gilbert. John was Elena’s birth father and brother to the man that adopted her. He was also the one that introduced me to the Gilberts as the daughter of a friend when I wanted to get to know Elena. Of course, he hadn’t done so out of the goodness of his heart. I’d threatened to expose him to Elena before he consented.

Over the years, our relationship improved and we actually got along quite well now. Though he didn’t know I currently lived with the Originals. I doubted he’d take that information well. He wasn’t a big fan of the supernatural. And his daughter was the doppelganger. Never let it be said life didn’t have an impeccable sense of irony.

His text was only three words: _She knows everything_.

I sent a quick reply that I’d be visiting soon and headed inside. I followed their voices and my nose into the kitchen. The brothers decided they were making dinner this evening and the air smelled of tomato and garlic. My mouth watered. I pocketed my phone and leaned against the doorframe to watch them.

“If you believe your presence will hurry us along, Cassie, you are mistaken. There are some things that cannot be rushed.” Elijah continued to stir the sauce on the stove as he spoke.

Nik was slicing vegetables for a salad and came over to give me a kiss. “Hello, sweetheart.”

“Hello, Nik.” He smiled widely as he always did when I called him that. I wasn’t sure why it brought him such pleasure but it was an easy thing to continue. I took a carrot from the pile he’d cut.  “So,” I said, drawing out the word. “It appears I’m going to be making a trip.”

Elijah glanced at me and Nik laid down his knife. He rested his hands on the edge of the counter before turning to me. “Why do I gather from your tone that you are intending to take this trip alone?”

I patted his shoulder. “Because you are a very intuitive hybrid.” I kissed his cheek and felt his jaw twitch beneath my touch.

“Where are you going?”

I gathered the salad dressing and shredded cheese to take them out to the table while I talked. Dinner was almost ready. “Virginia.”

Nik brought the salad out to the table. “Where in Virginia?”

“Mystic Falls.”

He turned his head slowly to look at me, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Did you say Mystic Falls?” Elijah called from the kitchen.

“Yes, why?” My eyebrows drew together. “What’s going on?”

Nik pulled out my chair for me. “Let’s talk while we eat.”

Once everything had been placed on the table, they sat as well. “So, what’s the deal with Mystic Falls?” I asked before taking a bite of pasta.

“First, why is it you need to go there?” Nik asked.

“I got a text saying my cousin knows everything now. I’m assuming that includes the fact she’s the doppelganger. I need to talk to her and not over the phone.”

“The doppelganger’s in Mystic Falls?” Nik laughed.

I looked at Elijah hoping he’d provide some enlightenment.

He cleared his throat and sat his fork down. “The area now known as Mystic Falls is where our family resided when we were human. It is where we became vampires.”

I smiled, once again thinking of the irony of the universe. “Actually, that works out nicely. What better place to break a curse than where it originated?”

“I’ll go with you,” Nik said and took a sip of his wine.

“No. You won’t.” He frowned at my response. “She’s family. I’m going to make sure she actually knows everything and attempt to get her to cooperate with breaking the curse. Everything will go so much easier if everyone just cooperates.”

Nik scowled. “Yes. It would. I don’t like you going off by yourself, love.”

“Calm down, Nik. What’s going to happen in a little town like Mystic Falls?”


	6. Chapter 6

IT TOOK THE BETTER part of two hours for me to convince the brothers, mainly Nik, that I would be fine travelling on my own. I nearly had to swear a blood oath to keep my phone on me at all times and to call if anything went wrong. Like I wouldn’t anyway? Paranoid Originals.

Nik had seen to everything. I’d flown into Virginia and someone met me at the airport with a car. And I don’t mean they picked me up to drive me like a normal person would get. No, Nik purchased an SUV and had someone meet me at the airport with the keys. I really wanted to yell at him for doing it but I loved the car.

I easily found the Gilbert house upon my arrival in Mystic Falls. I’d been here often enough to know my way around. I parked the car in front of the two story white house. Part of me was surprised everything looked the same. I guess I expected some outward reflection of the changes they’d gone through since Elena and Jeremy’s parents died. I knocked and turned to look over the neighborhood while I waited for someone to answer.

“I’ve got it,” I heard someone say and turned just as the door opened. A man with dark hair and the most intense blue eyes I’d ever seen stood in the doorway. He hooked a hand around the door and smirked at me, his eyes flashing with mischief as he looked me over. “Well, hello.”

“Hello. Who are you?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You are on _my_ doorstep after all.”

Before I could respond to that I heard another voice, a familiar voice, but that was impossible. “Damon? Come on, we’re in the middle of dinner here.” A familiar head of unkempt brown hair stepped into view and glanced in my direction briefly before doing a double take. His face split with a grin. “Cassidy? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Ric.” I laughed as he lunged forward and wrapped me in a hug, lifting me off my feet. Alaric Saltzman had been married to my Aunt Isobel, Elena’s birth mother. Isobel and I had always been near inseparable so by extension I’d become close with Ric as well. If anything the two of us had only grown closer when Isobel disappeared, bonding together in our grief. Eventually, I discovered my aunt transitioned into a vampire and was living an emotionless life. Needless to say, I didn’t talk to her as much as I used to. It was a secret I kept from Ric. It would break his heart. I could honestly say this was the last place I ever expected to find him.

The man in the doorway cleared his throat and gave me a look that clearly said he didn’t trust me just showing up. “I take it you two know each other?”

“Yes.” Ric sat me down, his hands still on my upper arms as he beamed at me. “Oh, yes,” he said turning back, realizing the other man was fishing for an introduction. “Damon Salvatore, this is my niece Cassidy Grimes. Cassidy, Damon.”

I shook his hand and swallowed my surprise that he was a vampire. “How did you know our buddy Ric was here?” he asked. Yep, he didn’t trust me at all.

“I didn’t actually. I’m here to see—”

“Cassidy? Elena, Cassidy is here!” Elena’s Aunt Jenna wrapped her thin arms around my neck and I hugged her back. Jenna and I became fast friends when we first met. “It’s so good to see you. We haven’t seen you since…” she trailed off without finishing. The last time I’d been here, had been for Elena’s parents’ funeral. It wasn’t a time any of us wanted to remember.

“Cassidy?” came the familiar voice and then another pair of arms wrapped around my waist. When a third set joined the hug I pulled back enough to see it was Caroline.

“Okay, okay.” I stepped back with a laugh. “It’s good to see you guys, too.” My hand brushed Caroline’s arm as we moved apart and I froze. When had the blonde become a vampire? It was a good thing I’d come for a visit. There were vampires everywhere. I kept the smile glued to my face.

“I feel like I’ve interrupted something,” I said. “People keep coming out of your house. It’s like a clown car.”

“Just a little dinner,” Jenna said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“What a minute,” Ric said from behind me. “How do you guys know Cassidy?”

“How do _you_ know Cassidy?” Jenna countered.

I held up my hands in surrender. “Okay, everyone in the house. I will explain inside.”

Everyone moved into the house, Damon still giving me a smirk and a narrow-eyed look. Another man sat at the table. He had long, unkempt hair and looked like the typical surfer boy.

“Mason, this is Cassidy Grimes. She’s a friend of the family. Cassidy, Mason Lockwood, also a friend. We went to high school together,” Jenna explained.

I shook his hand and resisted the urge to yank mine back. _Werewolf_. Seriously? What was with this town? “Lockwood? As in Carol and Tyler?”

Mason grinned. “Yeah. I came into town for the funeral and decided to stick around for a bit.” Richard Lockwood had been the mayor and had passed not long ago. I never cared for him, but I did like his wife Carol.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Ric moved some chairs around to make room for me. “Thanks.” I smiled and sat.

“Can I get you something to eat?” Jenna asked.

I shook my head. “I already ate. Don’t worry about me.”

“Okay, spill. How do you know everyone? The suspense is killing me,” Damon said in a completely insincere voice. A glance at him had me convinced that his normal facial expression was a smirk and flirty eyes. At least the man wasn’t hard to look at.

“Her mother was Isobel’s older sister,” Ric answered, saving me from guessing if everyone here knew about his wife.

“How much older? Because you don’t look much younger than Ric here,” Damon asked with a smile that wasn’t fooling me in the slightest.

“My mother was ten when Isobel was born. And she in turn was ten when I was born,” I explained. “I had some issues adjusting after my parents died. Isobel called John who was an old friend of hers and asked him to help me out. He brought me here.”

I glanced at Elena and saw the girl’s eyes widen as she realized that we were actually cousins.  “And how do you know the Gilberts, Ric?”

He cleared his throat. “I took a job teaching history at the high school.” He didn’t meet my eyes which made me wonder if that was the whole story.

I decided not to question it for now. “Where’s Jeremy?” I asked instead.

“Socializing,” Elena answered.

My eyebrows rose. Jeremy was Elena’s brother and he had not been handling their parents’ deaths well at all. “Well, I suppose I can’t complain about that.”

Jenna directed us to the living room to play Pictionary and I thought again how bizarre it was to find Ric here. All these coincidences didn’t sit well with me. Every time I turned around, everywhere I looked, the universe was nudging another peg into place, bringing people and elements together. It was a little unnerving.

“I’ll be in after a bit, Jenna,” I told as I went to the door. “I need to call a couple of people and let them know I made it.”

She nodded and I let myself out. The SUV was the best place to ensure I wouldn’t be overheard. I settled into my seat and cast a silence spell to make sure the vampire and the werewolf couldn’t eavesdrop even if they wanted. I called Nik and waited for him to answer.

“Hello, sweetheart. How was the drive?” Just hearing his voice made me feel better, more relaxed. I’d called him from the airport to thank him for the car but that felt like hours ago. Damn this man had really gotten under my skin.

“It was fine. Family’s good.” My voice was full of mock cheerfulness.

“Fantastic. And what aren’t you telling me?”

I took a deep breath. “I’m going to say something and you won’t like it, but you need to not overreact, because it’s really not a big deal.”

“Telling me not to overreact is not the best way to assure I stay calm, Cassie.” His voice was tight and I could tell he was talking through his teeth. I might as well get it over with.

“I came straight to Elena’s house. There are six people inside. My cousin, the doppelganger. Her aunt slash guardian. My uncle who I didn’t even realize lived in this town let alone that he would know Elena. Elena’s best friend who has turned into a vampire since I saw her last. Another vampire who thinks he’s sex walking and a surfer boy werewolf.”

There was a long silence. “That’s two vampires and a werewolf,” Elijah’s voice came over the line. “How long have you been in town?”

“Half an hour give or take. And I can count, Elijah, thank you. Where is Nik?”

“I believe he is resisting the urge to break something. I took his phone when it became clear he wasn’t going to respond.”

I rolled my eyes. “This is the very definition of overreacting. He does remember I am a witch, correct? And that I spent twenty-four years surviving just fine before I met the two of you?”

“You should know that doesn’t matter, Cassie. You’re family now. We protect our family.”

My irritation flowed away and I smiled. “I know. Put Nik back on, please.”

“What is it, Cassie?” Nik asked, his voice short.

“Listen, I am fine. I will be fine. None of them are more than I can handle. I promise.” I did my best to reassure him.

“I don’t like this, love. I didn’t want you to go without me in the first place.”

I sighed pinched the bridge of my nose. “I promise, I will be the first to tell you if things get too weird and you need to come okay? But we all decided it would be better for you not to be here yet. People get nervous when you show up.” That was an understatement if I ever heard one.

He didn’t answer and my heart ached a little. This caring for someone, worrying about someone, was new for him. I only hoped it didn’t scare him away. I softened my tone. “Nik, I’m okay. I promise.”

“Fine. But you will call the moment you encounter anything even remotely threatening. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Boss.”

Nik growled as only a hybrid could.

I laughed. “I promise, Nik. And I promise to stay in touch.” I hung up without waiting for a response and took a deep breath. That went slightly better than I feared. At least the brothers weren’t on the way to Mystic Falls immediately. The Originals weren’t something to be sprung on people with no warning.

I walked back up on the porch and leaned on the railing. There was not even a little part of me that had any desire to play Pictionary. After a few minutes, the door opened and Ric stepped out.

“Hey trouble.” I turned so I faced him.

“Now, be fair. It was always Isobel that got us in trouble.”

“Mm hmm. Whatever you have to tell yourself.”

He leaned next to me. “How have you been?”

I smiled. “I’ve been good. Really good.”

He gave me a lopsided smile. “That sounds like a guy. Is it a guy?”

I rolled my eyes which made him laugh. “In a manner of speaking.”

“In a manner of speaking? Is it a girl? I mean, it’s okay if it is.”

“No, Ric. I am seeing someone of the male species. I’d just rather not go into too many details right now, okay? It’s newish.”

“Yeah, all right. You coming back in or what?”

“That depends on whether or not they are done playing Pictionary.”

He laughed again. “Yeah, it’s the last round. Come on.”

We walked into the house to find Damon drawing and Mason calling out, “Dances with Wolves.”

I choked a little on the laugh I tried to hold back. “I’m just going to get some water,” I told Ric and headed into the kitchen.

Damon came in behind me and looked at me sideways. I arched my brows and watched him over the rim of my glass as I drank. He picked up the pie server from the silver chest and looked it over.

“Won’t work, you know.”

He glanced at me.

“Silver. Doesn’t work on werewolves.”

He scowled and shoved the server into the pie before he carried it into the other room. I placed the glass in the sink then followed along behind. I had to stifle another laugh when the werewolf dug the pie out with his hands instead of using the server. Damon gave me a look that said he thought he was right and I was wrong. Yeah, I wasn’t. The werewolf was just screwing with him.

Elena and Caroline walked by on their way to the front door. “We’re going to Stefan’s,” Elena said and continued on without waiting for a response.

“Boyfriend,” Jenna explained without me asking.

I nodded as I leaned back in my chair to watch the show between the vampire and the werewolf.

Ric cleared his throat. “So, Mason, did you and Jenna date in high school?”

“No. She was too far gone over Logan Fell.”

Jenna laughed. “Boy was that a mistake. Mason didn’t need me though. Everyone wanted to date him.”

Damon pursed his lips together. “Really? You seem more like a lone wolf.”

Mason smiled and narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I’m sure I wasn’t half the lady killer you are.”

I pressed my lips together and glanced at Ric. He was studying me with a frown as he took a drink from his bottle of beer. Something about the look told me he was no longer ignorant of the supernatural. Seemed like I needed to have a talk with Ric sooner rather than later.

After an hour or more of stories and reminiscing, Damon and Mason volunteered to clean up the kitchen. I thought about listening in but their dancing around each other was more tiring than amusing now. “Anybody want to go to the Grill for round two?” Mason asked as he emerged.

Jenna and Ric both shook their heads. “I could use another drink,” I said and it was even the truth. Vampires drank constantly as it helped curb their cravings. I’d picked up a bit of a drinking habit living with them.  

“Awesome,” Mason said. “Want to catch a ride with me?”

“No, let me freshen up and I’ll meet you there. Then you don’t have to run me home.”

“Sounds good. Jenna, Ric, are you sure you don’t want to come along?” he asked.

“I think we’re good, but let me walk you to the door,” Jenna said.

I headed out to my car and grabbed a shirt and my overnight bag. “See you in a bit,” I told Mason as we passed on the porch.

“Okay if I use Elena’s room?” I asked Jenna.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

I heard Damon say it was time for him to go too as I closed Elena’s door. After letting my hair down, I brushed it out and decided to leave it down. I changed into my shirt. It was a deep maroon that flattered my coloring. It sat high in the front and scooped down in the back. Thank God Nik wasn’t here to see me or I wouldn’t be going anywhere. At least not without a hybrid escort.

After touching up my makeup, I grabbed my stuff and left Elena’s room. Ric was leaning against the wall waiting for me and I jumped. “Damn it, Ric. Don’t do that.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to meet Mason at the Grill,” he said instead of responding to me.

I could hear Jenna moving around downstairs. “Why? Because he’s a werewolf?”

Ric blinked at me and straightened from the wall. “What? How?”

I grimaced. “There may be one or two things that Isobel and I kept from you. I guess since you seem to know all about it now though, there’s no point.” There was a scarf hanging on the door knob next to him. I concentrated as I wiggled my fingers and it floated off the handle to hover in the air in front of him.

“You’re a…witch?” He yelled the first two words, then dropped his voice off when I motioned at him to be quiet.

I put my thumb and forefinger together, leaving about a half inch of space between them. “Little bit.”

“A little bit?” He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh my…We need to talk about this, but not tonight.”

“I agree. I’m going to go have a drink.” I held up a hand when he started to protest. “I’ll be fine. Tell Jenna if I’m too late I’ll stay at the inn.” I kissed him on the cheek then headed down the stairs and out the door.

Mason was nowhere to be found when I arrived at the Mystic Grill so I took a seat at the bar. I ordered bourbon and tapped my fingers on the bar while I waited.

“Sorry, Mason won’t be joining you. He’s not feeling well.” A voice said in my ear and  Damon Salvatore took the stool next to me.

I waited until we both had our drinks before speaking. “I don’t suppose you had anything to do with that?”

His drink paused briefly on the way to his lips. He took a swallow then smirked. “How did you know?”

I arched a brow. “About you having something to do with it or about the silver?”

“The silver.”

I leaned into his side and turned my head so I was speaking in his ear. “Same way that I know you are much, much older than you look.”

He pulled back with a frown.

I smirked. “Drink up, Mr. Salvatore.”

We sat in silence and sipped our drinks. “Ric told you,” he said suddenly.

“Nope.” I signaled the bartender for another round. “In fact, he was rather alarmed that I knew.” That reminded me, I should really text Ric and put his mind at ease.

_Mason was a no show._

Damon glanced at my phone then turned his attention to the door when Elena walked in with a young man that appeared to be slightly older than her. “I take it that’s the boyfriend?” I asked.

My companion nodded as Elena and Stefan took a table. “He’s also my little brother.”

I looked between the two men. If I hadn’t been told they were related, I wouldn’t see it. I started to say something to Damon but it was obvious he was listening to something else in the bar.

My phone buzzed drawing my attention. _It’s not healthy to drink alone._

I smiled and typed back. _Not alone. With Damon._

 _That’s worse,_ was the immediate reply.

I decided that didn’t warrant a response and flipped through the emails on my phone while I waited for the vampire to not be otherwise occupied.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, startling me. “I’ve got better booze at home.”

I put a hand to my chest in feigned shock. “Damon Salvatore, are you trying to get me to go home with you?”

He tossed enough money down on the bar to cover both of our drinks. “Absolutely. I have questions and you have answers. Let’s go.” He held out a hand and I let him help me off the stool.

“Thanks for the drinks,” I told him and he nodded while he steered me toward the door with a hand on my back.

We stepped into the night and Damon pulled out his keys as he turned us toward his car.

“Hello, Damon,” a voice said from our right.

We both turned in that direction to see Elena’s double. _Katherine_.


	7. Chapter 7

TECHNICALLY ELENA WAS KATHERINE’S double since she was about five hundred years older than my cousin. She might be my ancestor but I disliked her on principle. I’d heard enough stories where she saved herself while completely disregarding the consequences to anyone else. Damon went rigid next to me and I looped an arm around his waist and leaned into his side. His arm draped over my shoulders in response and I honestly wasn’t sure he even realized he’d done it as his attention was still focused on the other vampire.

“Who’s this, baby?” I asked.

He relaxed at my words, letting me know I was doing the right thing. “Katherine. She’s nobody.”

“That’s not nice, Damon. You look upset,” Katherine taunted. “Jealous I spent the day with Stefan?”

“No reason why I would be.” He pulled me tightly against his side.

Katherine pressed her lips together and made a show of looking me over from top to bottom. I had no delusions about my beauty but frankly, she wasn’t a bombshell either. Katherine sauntered over to us. Damon tried to shift me so I stood behind him, but I held my ground. No way would I give her the satisfaction of thinking she intimidated me.

Katherine looked me in the eyes. “You want to go home now. In fact, you never want to have anything to do with Damon Salvatore ever again.” She looked at Damon as he went still. “Sorry about your toy. I’m sure you’ll find another.”

I didn’t move. “If you’re finished, I’d like to take Damon home now. He tried to kill a werewolf today and failed. He’s very torn up about it.”

Katherine glared, realizing her compulsion had no effect on me.

“That’s right,” he piped up beside me. “I feel like I haven’t been living up to my best self. Cassidy here is going to take me home and lick my wounds. Goodnight, Katherine.”

We walked away and she let us go. Damon opened the door for me when we got to his car and I slid inside. “My car’s in the parking lot on the other side of the building,” I said when he got in.

“I’ll bring you back to it later.”

I buckled my seatbelt and tried to memorize the route he took so I could find my own way later if needed. We pulled up in front of a large, stately house. I leaned forward so I could see it through the windshield. “Wow.”

“Thanks for that back there.” Damon pulled his keys out of the ignition.

“No problem. I know a bitchy ex-girlfriend when I see one.”

“How did you know she wasn’t Elena, anyway?”

“I know things, Salvatore.” I climbed out. “Come on. You promised me a drink.”

I followed him in the house and looked around in awe. It wasn’t the richness of the place that fascinated me. I’d gotten used to that with the Originals over the past few months. It was the age and the beauty that came with that. “This place is amazing.”

Damon poured us both a drink while he glanced around the room. “Thanks. It’s been in the family for a long time. Sorry I’m fresh out of vervain.” He handed me the glass with a smirk. “So, you going to talk or do I have to actually ask the questions before you answer them?”

I sat at one end of the couch. “We should probably wait for your brother so I don’t have to repeat myself. Unless you think he’ll take your word for whatever I have to tell you. Oh, and I’m not on vervain.”

Damon grunted and pulled out his phone, to send a quick text. He kept his eyes on the screen. “He’ll be here in a moment. And what do you mean you’re not on vervain? I saw Katherine fail to compel you.”

“Patience is a virtue, Salvatore.”

Several minutes later the younger Salvatore walked in. “Hey, Damon. What’s up?”

Damon tilted his glass in my direction.

Stefan looked between me and his brother. “Who’s this?”

“This is Cassidy Grimes. Elena’s…” he trailed off and looked to me in question.

“Cousin, actually. Isobel was my aunt. I was a family friend before she knew that though.”

Stefan stepped forward and extended his hand. “Elena mentioned you were in town. Stefan Salvatore.” He looked between us again. “So, not to be rude, but why are you here? I assume it’s not to meet me or you would have been with Elena, not my brother.”

“Cassidy is here because she owes me an explanation of how she knew silver doesn’t work on werewolves among other things.” Damon smirked as he took a drink.

“Wait,” Stefan said. “How do _you_ know silver doesn’t work on werewolves?”

Damon shrugged one shoulder. “I stabbed Mason Lockwood with a silver knife. It didn’t do anything.”

“You what? Are you insane? You can’t just go around stabbing people, Damon. Especially werewolves.” Stefan raked a hand through his hair in irritation.

“He tried to eat you,” Damon said in a completely reasonable voice.

I just watched the two of them, highly entertained.

“Yeah, well…I’m sure it was an accident.”

Damon snorted and drained his drink. He rose to refill his glass and gestured to mine.

“I’m good.”

“So talk, Grimes. How do you know the things you know?”

“Honestly, most of it I know because I’m a book nerd. A scholar. I have a Master’s in Anthropology with an emphasis in ancient folklore and legends. I did my thesis on paranormal mythology among different cultures.”

“Okay, but doing research and knowing all of this is real are two very different things.” Stefan took a seat as he got sucked into the conversation.

“True, but I knew it was real before I started researching.” I wiggled my fingers in the air. “Witch.”

Damon narrowed his eyes. “Prove it.”

I shrugged and looked around the room, finally settling for starting a fire in the fireplace. It was a bit chilly after all. Both brothers looked suitably impressed.

“You’re not going to give us one of those brain pains are you?” Damon asked.

I lifted my brows. “I don’t usually do things like that without a reason. So try not to kill me and I think we’re good.”

“I’ve got another witch you could talk to about that.” He grimaced and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “So that’s how you knew I was a vampire and Mason was a werewolf. What about Katherine? How did you know she wasn’t Elena?”

“Isobel told me about Katherine and Elena being doppelgangers.” I’d actually learned that bit of information on the Other Side but the brothers were far more likely to believe it came from Isobel. “We just saw Elena and Stefan and she did not look nearly that slutty.”

Damon choked on his drink and coughed.

“You saw Katherine?” Stefan asked in surprise.

Damon licked his lips. “Yeah, she was waiting outside the Grill when we left. I think it’s safe to say Cassidy here didn’t make any friends.”

“You shouldn’t antagonize Katherine. She’s dangerous.” Stefan leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers clasped together. His dark eyes studied me.

I pursed my lips. “Let’s just say I have a surprise or two up my sleeve that even she won’t be expecting. I’m not worried about Katherine.”

“You should be. Don’t underestimate her.” He looked at his brother. “She threatened Elena today.”

Irritation crawled under my skin but I said nothing. Elena was family. If my time with the Originals taught me anything it was that family was more important than anything else.

Damon looked serious for the first time all night. “What did she say?”

“She said if I didn’t quit seeing Elena she would kill everyone she loved in front of her and then kill Elena in front of me.”

“What are you going to do?” Damon asked and I didn’t miss the way he held his breath. His brother’s answer was extremely important to him, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

“Whatever I have to. I won’t let her hurt Elena.” With that Stefan stood and gave me a nod before he left the room.

“So, Katherine’s a bit of a drama queen, huh?” I asked after the silence stretched too long.

Damon snorted. “You have no idea.”

I pulled out my phone to look at the time. It was later than I thought. “I guess you should run me back to my car. I need to get checked in at the Inn.”

Damon frowned. “Aren’t you staying with Elena?”

I shook my head. “I promised Jenna last time I was here I wouldn’t come in late. I don’t want to be a bad influence, Salvatore.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. Well, this wasn’t a boarding house for nothing. We’ve got plenty of room. Come on.”

“Lest you forget, all of my things are also in my car.”

“I have a shirt you can sleep in and a spare toothbrush. Need anything else?”

“That will do it. Why do I get the feeling you’ve got a whole drawer full of spare toothbrushes?”

“You said you were smart.”

I followed him to a well-kept room on the other side of the house. “Here you go,” he said with a flourish. “I’m that door right there if you need anything.”

“I guess I’ll follow for the toothbrush and t-shirt then.”

I leaned in the doorway, not wanting to invade his space, and sent a text to Elijah. _Katherine’s much sluttier than I imagined._

“Boyfriend?” Damon asked with a nod at the phone as he came back and handed me the stuff.

“Boyfriend’s brother,” I answered, laughing mentally at what Nik’s face would look like if he heard me calling him my boyfriend.

Damon made a humming noise then did that flirty eye thing he seemed to have down to an art. “You know you could stay in here with me.”

I chuckled. “As much fun as I’m sure that would be, one or both of us would end up dead when Nik found out.”

“So there’s a chance I might live?” he teased.

“Oh, no. You’d be dead for sure. Whether or not he’d kill me is what’s up for debate.”

He made a show of looking me over. “I don’t know. Might be worth it.”

I shook my head and gave him a little wave as I headed to my room. I shut and locked the door before looking at my buzzing phone. It had been going crazy since shortly after I sent the text but I’d been ignoring it. The Originals needed to learn some patience.

I didn’t get a chance to read any of the texts from either brother before my phone rang. “Hold on,” I answered and set the phone on the bed. I concentrated and cast a silence spell on the room so Damon wouldn’t be able to hear the conversation. I grabbed the phone and sat on the edge of the bed. “Okay.”

“Are you _trying_ to kill my brother, Cassidy?” Elijah sounded thoroughly exasperated.

“I did not text your brother, Elijah. I texted you. The fact that you decided to share the information with him is not my fault.” I did my best to sound innocent, but I’d known Elijah would tell Nik when I sent the text. He wouldn’t keep something like that from him.

There was a brief silence. “I’m afraid I announced I had a text from you before I read what it said. It will not happen again.”

I stifled my laugh. “Good to know. What did he break?”

“Surprisingly little. Though he keeps mumbling under his breath.”

“Just because I’m not involved in the conversation, doesn’t mean I can’t hear you, brother,” Nik said in the background.

“Put me on speaker and I’ll fill you both in.”

“Okay, Cassie,” Elijah said after a moment.

“Hello, Nik.”

“Sweetheart.” His smooth accented voice rolled through me and made me shiver.

“As you guessed from my text, Katherine is here. Why she’s here now and what she wants I can’t say. I do know that for a small town, there is a serious super problem around here. Vampires, witches, doppelgangers, werewolves. I’m guessing it has something to do with the spell your mother cast to turn you into vampires. Magic like that sticks around, draws others.”

“Focus, love. You can research that later. Did you talk to Katherine?”

I grimaced. “In a manner of speaking. Like I said, she’s, I’m sorry what’s the proper term these days? Oh, she’s a sexually empowered, overly assertive woman. I helped out a friend when we came across her outside a bar.”

“Friend?” Nik asked.

“Local vamp. Friend of my cousin’s. We were having drinks and ran into her on our way out.”

“I see.” The hybrid drew out the words. “And does this _friend_ have a name?”

“Damon Salvatore and be nice.”

There was a long pause. “Does he have a brother named Stefan by any chance?” Nik asked finally.

“Yeah. You know them?”

“I met Stefan once back in the Twenties. I doubt he remembers me.”

 I found that unlikely. Nik was a hard man to forget. “Listen. About Katherine. I’m leaving her be because I know you have plans, but she threatened my family.”

“Duly noted,” was Nik’s response. I took that to mean he wouldn’t punish me too badly if I killed Katherine to protect my family.

“We should be getting into town the day after tomorrow,” Elijah added.

I smiled. “So you were coming before you knew about Katherine.”

“Yes,” came the elder original’s smooth voice. “But we weren’t due to arrive for another week.”

“I assume you’ve made arrangements on where you’re staying? The local hotels aren’t really up to your standards and you can’t stay with me. I’m bed hopping.”

Elijah cleared his throat. “You may wish to rethink your wording, Cassie.” There was a thread of laughter in his voice and I could only imagine the face Nik was making.

“You really are too easy to torment, Nik. Just a bit ago I wondered what your face would look like if you heard me call you my boyfriend,” I said. Elijah laughed in the background.

“Isn’t there another term we could use that’s not so…infantile?”

“What would you suggest, oh great and mighty hybrid?”

“Yes, that. I rather like that.”

“Keep dreaming, hybrid. Now, where are you staying?”

“Niklaus bought a house outside of town. It needs some work but it more than meets our needs,” Elijah told me. “And the workmen have been well compensated to complete the work quickly.”

Ordinary people would have rented something, but the Original brothers weren’t ordinary. To them it was just another house. To me, it meant they cared. “Let me know when you get to town. I’ll try to talk to Elena tomorrow.”

“Be careful, Cassie,” Elijah said.

“Always am,” I responded automatically.


	8. Chapter 8

PERSISTENT KNOCKING WOKE ME the next morning. I shuffled out of bed and cracked open the door to glare at a grinning Damon. “Morning, witchy. Come on. We have stuff to do.”

My brow furrowed. “Like what?”

“It’s the historical society volunteer day, Grimes. Contribute to your community.”

I groaned. “First, it’s not my community. It’s yours. Second, tired. Bed. Comfy. Third, I need to talk to Elena today.” I frowned. “And four, daytime, vampires, bad.”

He tapped the large ring on his finger. “Daylight ring. Me, Stefan and Caroline all have them. Katherine’s got something too, unfortunately.” He pulled a face at that then smiled. “And just where do you think Miss Elena is going to be today?”

Of course she was. I looked down at the faded gray t-shirt I’d slept in. “Any objection to me wearing this today? I don’t think my shirt is really appropriate for manual labor.”

“Nope. Just be careful with it. It’s vintage.”

“So are you, Salvatore.” I shut the door on his laugh and debated crawling back into bed. Another nightmare kept me up a good chunk of the night. With a sigh, I decided to be an adult and got ready to volunteer.

The Salvatores and I all rode together to the park. As I exited the car, I scanned the crowd that had gathered to work on a park that didn’t look like it really needed much done. Of course, if they had these days often enough, that was probably why.

I spotted Mason and headed in his direction. “Feeling better?”

His head jerked up when he heard me. “What?”

“Damon said you weren’t feeling well.”

He wiped his hands on his jeans and smiled. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I would have called but I didn’t have your number.”

I shrugged. “No worries.”

“Maybe I can buy you a drink to make up for it,” he suggested.

Stefan joined us before I could answer and I couldn’t help thinking it was intentional. “Hey, Cassidy. Can I have a moment with Mason?”

“Yeah, sure. I’m going to find Elena.” And stay the hell away from flirtatious werewolves.

I briefly considered listening in on their conversation as I walked away, but doubtless they only intended to threaten each other. Surely there was something more interesting going on somewhere.

I finally found Elena carrying supplies over to paint a shelter. Maybe I could help and get paint on Damon’s shirt. “Hello, cousin,” I said as I walked up to her.

She sat her supplies down and wrapped me a hug. “How long have you known?”

“A while,” I answered evasively. “It wasn’t my secret to tell but I wanted to meet you. That’s why I blackmailed John into introducing me.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Why does it not surprise me that you had to threaten him? He’s an ass. I am kind of angry you didn’t tell me, though.”

“Would it have mattered when your folks were alive?”

“No. Not really.”

“And it’s not like there’s been a good time to tell you since the accident.”

“True.” She picked up a brush and began painting. Caroline smiled a greeting.

“So I have a question for the two of you.” I leaned against a pole that hadn’t been painted yet. “When exactly did Caroline become a vampire?”

Both of the girls’ heads snapped to me in surprise.

“What are you talking about?” Caroline said.

At the same time, Elena said, “How did you know?”

“I know lots of things. Like the Salvatores are vampires, Mason Lockwood is a werewolf and you, cousin, are a doppelganger.”

Both girls gaped.

I laughed. “I might have kept a secret or two of my own. The witches on my dad’s side go back for generations.”

Elena blinked a couple of times. “Yeah, well, I know things, too. Like that is Damon’s shirt.”

“It is. Though I find it interesting you noticed.”

“Speaking of Salvatores,” Caroline interrupted. “How are things going with you and Stefan?”

Elena shrugged. “I haven’t talked to him since the fight.”

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Stefan’s my boyfriend. He’s pushing me away because his ex, Katherine, is threatening me,” Elena explained.

I pursed my lips as I thought. “Yeah. I heard about that. Can’t say I’m a fan of Katherine’s.”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “You met her?”

“Briefly.”

“Well, then don’t you agree that Elena might be better off staying away from Stefan if that’s what Katherine wants?”

I studied the blonde vampire. Something wasn’t right. Caroline always wanted people in a relationship, even when it was the absolute worst thing for them. It was one of her more endearing qualities. “I think Elena can do whatever she wants without any input from me. Or you for that matter.”

Elena flashed me a grateful smile. “Stefan’s over there. I’m going to go talk to him.”

“I’m not sure—”

I held up a hand stopping Caroline. “Leave her be.”

Caroline looked at me in surprise but didn’t say anything else. I followed Elena with my eyes.

“Why don’t you quit being such a bitch to your mom?” Damon’s now familiar voice drew my attention. He was talking to Caroline. Caroline opened her mouth to respond but snapped it shut with a glare at me.

“And what’s that about?” Damon asked me with a chuckle.

“I told Caroline to stay out of people’s business. She didn’t like it much.” Damon smirked but I could tell he wasn’t really listening. I arched a brow. They were both using their enhanced hearing to listen to Elena and Stefan’s conversation. “Perhaps I should tell you the same thing, since you are both obviously listening to a conversation that has nothing to do with you.”

They looked slightly guilty at having been caught. Elena walked past us and Caroline waited only a beat before following. “Something’s wrong with that girl,” I murmured.

Damon looked amused. “You want the whole list? Come on, Grimes, let’s get something to drink.”

“Yes, because we’ve both been working incredibly hard.” I followed him over to the other shelter house anyway. It’s not like I actually intended to do any work when I tagged along.

Mason Lockwood was at the drink table when we got there. “Damon. Cassidy.” He handed me a glass of lemonade. “Here. I owe you a drink.”

I took a sip. “Thanks.”

“I’ll see you around, Damon,” Mason said and walked off.

Stefan walked over to join us. “What was that about?”

I looked at him with wide eyes feigning ignorance. “He was just offering me a drink, is all.”

Damon snorted and took the glass from my hand.

I glanced at him. “I have a feeling if I hadn’t been here there would have been a lot more posturing.”

Damon suddenly coughed and sprayed out a mouthful of lemonade startling me and Stefan. “What is it?” Stefan asked.

“Vervain,” Damon hissed through his abused throat.

I made a beeline for the water and threw the bottle to Stefan who caught it and opened it before handing it to Damon. An older woman with short blonde hair pulled out a phone and took off the moment Damon choked. I gave a nod to Stefan and followed the woman at a discrete distance, casting my eavesdropping spell as I went.

The woman told whoever was on the phone to bring something and meet her. I dropped back when Caroline walked up to her. From their conversation I took this to be Caroline’s mom. That would make her Liz Forbes, the sheriff. I had a bad feeling about this.

When the sheriff walked away, Elena joined Caroline and I walked up behind them. “There’s something going on.”

“Yeah, there is,” Caroline said. “Come on.”

 We followed the blonde vampire to the top of a ridge.

“I need to hear,” Caroline said.

“Hear what?” Elena asked and I put a hand on her shoulder. When Elena looked at me, I shook my head to tell her to be quiet.

I tried to listen as well, but I wasn’t practiced at filtering through the noise. Hopefully the vampire was better at it than I was.

“Stefan and Damon,” Caroline said suddenly and headed into the woods. We followed.

The woods in this area weren’t thick and we made decent time. Caroline stopped when we got to a clearing and sniffed the air. “They were here.” She knelt and ran her fingers along a plant. When she pulled them back, they were coated in blood.

“What are you guys doing out here?” a voice asked.

All of us looked toward the sound and found Mason Lockwood standing there.

“Have you seen Stefan?” Elena asked. Sometimes she wasn’t very bright.

“Of course he has, haven’t you Mason?” Annoyance colored my words.

He ignored me and looked at Caroline. “Does your mom know what you are? I could tell her and you can end up like Damon and his brother.”

Caroline started forward and I put out an arm to stop her. “Go get the Salvatores. I’ll take care of this.”

Mason moved forward, prepared to grab Elena from the looks of it, but I wrapped him in my magic and stopped him. “Go,” I said again, more forcefully this time. The girls ran off and I turned my attention back to the werewolf.

Mason glared at me. “What _are_ you?”

I walked slowly to him until I was a foot away. “I would think that was obvious.”

“Elena I get. Caroline I get. But what the hell do you care about the Salvatores? You just met them, right? And last I knew there was no love lost between witches and vampires. So, why do you care?”

“I’m not your normal witch. As for why I care, Elena loves Stefan. That makes him family. And Damon is…growing on me. If you were smart, you’d leave town.”

“Nah. I think I’ll stay around for a while. I have some family business to see to.” While I held him fast, his eyes were defiant, angry.

“Well then, I’ll just have to make sure you leave the people I care about alone in the future.” With a wave of my hand, Mason flew through the air to crash against a tree. He grunted in pain and grimaced. Another wave of my hand and he bounced off another trunk and then another. Finally, I lifted him in the air and dropped him a good fifteen feet.

I pulled my magic back and walked over to where he groaned in the grass and leaves. “Don’t piss me off again, Lockwood. Next time you won’t get up.” I left him and hurried in the direction the girls went, using my still enhanced hearing to help find the way.

I finally arrived at a set of stone steps leading into the ground. Several gunshots sounded making me jump and I hurried underground only to find Caroline staring down her mother who had a horrified look on her face. The old gate that blocked off the room creaked and groaned as I swung it open, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Didn’t know she was a vampire, huh?” I asked Liz. “That’s gotta be awkward.”

“Cassidy,” Caroline hissed behind me.

I disarmed the sheriff. “Go sit over there,” I instructed.

“Who are you?” Liz asked.

“Right now, I’m the one in charge. Go. Sit.”

I waited for her to do so then disarmed the two dead deputies. I put the guns in a pile at the side of the room then checked on Damon as Elena was already beside Stefan. “Wooden bullets?” I asked.

Damon nodded weakly. He frowned at me like he was trying to figure me out.

I unstrapped my knife from my ankle. I opened Damon’s shirt and grimaced as I examined his wounds. “Sorry. This won’t be pleasant.”

I recited a spell over the blade before using it so it would absorb some of the pain. The magic would need to be discharged later but Damon was too weak to take much more right then. Fortunately, his body had already started pushing the bullets out and I didn’t have to cut very deep.

After I dug the last one out of his chest he said, “You want me to take off my pants?” I looked up to find him smirking though he looked pale and haggard. “She shot my legs.”

I shook my head. “Keep your pants on, Salvatore. I’ll just cut the fabric.”

“Man I really liked these jeans,” Damon said when I sliced into the first leg and dug out the bullet.

“Quit bitching. It’s not like you were going to wear them with bullet holes in them. All done.” I leaned back. The gratitude was plain on his face though he didn’t say anything. “You better eat.” I gestured to the deputies. He nodded and pulled himself over to the closest one.

Stefan was awake when I moved over to him. Elena pushed up his shirt and I worked quickly to get the bullets out of his chest. “A couple of these were pretty close to your heart.”

“I know.” His voice was quiet.

“All right.” I wiped the blade on my jeans and strapped it back to my ankle. I still needed to discharge the magic but this wasn’t the time or place. As I didn’t have any salt handy, the only way to discharge it now would be for me to absorb it. It would leave me vulnerable and neither of the brothers was up for taking care of me right now. Neither was Caroline for that matter. The girl appeared to be in shock.

I glanced at the Sheriff. She still sat where I had told her, tears pooled in her eyes and her lips trembled. I moved over to squat down in front of Caroline.

“Hey,” I said, drawing the vampire’s attention. “You should clean up.”

Caroline looked at me in confusion before realizing she still wore the deputy’s blood on her face. She swiped at it with her hands. It wasn’t doing much good but at least she was doing something.

“You need to drink, Stefan,” Damon said behind me. I turned to find Stefan shaking his head.

“No. I’ll heal. It’ll just take longer.”

“You’re seriously trying to talk a vampire into drinking blood. This should be a non-issue you know that, right? Especially right now.”

“He doesn’t want to drink it, okay?” Elena snapped. “You don’t understand, Cassidy.”

I understood the vampire was being an idiot and denying his true nature but I merely pursed my lips. No one asked my opinion so I’d keep it to myself. For now. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest.

“What a mess,” Damon said and ran a hand through his hair. He turned to face the sheriff. “What are we going to do with you? I thought you were my friend.”

“You won’t tell anyone, will you mom?” Caroline said, her voice pleading. “Please Mom?”

Liz didn’t say anything. I clenched my teeth together. These people were ridiculous. Liz just shot someone she considered a friend. Of course, she’ll tell people. As for the Sheriff, her daughter was here and alive but apparently that wasn’t sufficient.

When no one said anything, Caroline piped up again. “Mom, he’ll kill you.”

“Then kill me. I can’t take this.” Her voice broke.

I couldn’t contain myself any longer. “Are you serious?”

“Cassidy, please just stay out of it,” Elena said, but Damon looked over his shoulder and gave me a little smirk.

“No, Elena I don’t think I will. You people need to face reality here. This isn’t happy fun time land. It’s the real world and it’s scary as shit. You’ve got a vampire that won’t feed when he’s half dead. And a mother whose daughter is right there.” I stepped away from the wall and Damon jerked Liz up from where she sat, making everyone gasp. I looked into the sheriff’s eyes. “She’s alive. Kind of. But she’s still your daughter. Vampires kill people? Yeah, well you almost just executed your friend. Get over it. That girl is brave and loyal and if I were her, I’d be ashamed of you.”

I stepped away. “I’ll be outside.” I leaned on the stones outside and waited.

“Don’t kill her,” someone cried.

“I’m not gonna kill her,” Damon protested in return.

I hoped he at least planned to compel the woman before he let her go.

They came up the steps. Damon had a grip on Liz’s upper arm. “Why don’t you let me take her back to your place? You can clean up that mess down there.”

Damon raised a brow and looked me over.

“Seriously?” I said. I wrapped Liz in my magic and pulled her away from Damon. After that, I pushed her forward across the grass.

“What…What’s happening to me?” Panic laced her voice.

I tilted my head and stretched my magic to keep the woman’s vocal cords from vibrating. “Ah,” I said with a sigh of relief. “No more noise.”

Damon glanced at Stefan. “Okay. Sounds good.”

I pulled out my keys and tossed them at the elder brother. “Go by and get my car would you. Black SUV. Dealer tags. Kind of hard to miss.” I glanced down at my bloody clothes. “Elena, we’ll have to take your car.”

With a wave at the Salvatores she led the way across the grass, Liz jerking along in front of us. “Caroline,” I said stopping the girl when she was about head to her car. “You better run home and get some things for your mom. She’ll be there a while.”

Elena pulled up along the side of the road and I maneuvered Liz into the back before sliding in beside her. I followed Elena into the basement when we got to the boarding house and put Liz in one of the cells along the hall. I held out my hand and drew my magic back. “Phone, please?”

Liz pulled it out of her pocket and placed it in my palm. The woman’s eyes were still wide with fear. I motioned for her to turn around and patted her down, removing her keys from her front pocket. “No backup weapon, Sheriff? That’s not very smart.”

“Mystic Falls is a peaceful town.”

I chuckled and moved out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind me. “Yeah, except for the vampires, werewolves, witches, vampire killers, etc. It’s super quiet.”


	9. Chapter 9

ELENA AND I WENT back upstairs to wait for the Salvatores. “I need salt,” I told her. She blinked at me then led me to the kitchen. She opened a cabinet near the stove and handed me a salt shaker. “I’m gonna need more than this.”

She disappeared through a door off to the side and came back with a round container of salt. “Perfect. And a glass? Plastic if they have it.”

“Sorry. No plastic.” She handed me a tall glass. I thanked her and opened the spout. I poured salt into the glass, until it was two inches from the top. “You might want to stand back. Just in case.” I unstrapped the knife from my ankle and plunged it tip first into the salt. Closing my eyes, I held my hands over it and concentrated on cleansing the blade of the magic and pain it absorbed earlier.

My eyes flew open as a low hum filled the air. The glass vibrated on the counter, jumping slightly. The hum became higher pitched. “Go. Out. Now.”

We ran into the hall just as the brothers came through the front door. I peered back into the kitchen. “What are you doing?” Damon said from right behind me.

I held up one finger. “Hold on.” The glass bounced on the counter and spun in circles. “Back.” I pulled everyone away from the kitchen door. A second later there was an explosive pop. A peek through the door revealed salt and glass everywhere. My blade stood on its point and spun on the counter.

Damon looked wide-eyed at the mess in his kitchen. “What the hell was that?”

I walked over to the kitchen counter, using the toe of my shoe to shove glass out of my way as I went. I grasped the handle of the knife and showed it to Damon. “I used magic to lessen the pain when I removed the bullets. The magic had to be dispersed.”

“And you did that by making a mess in our kitchen?” Stefan asked as he walked into the room and frowned.

“No. I did that by sticking the blade in a glass full of salt and saying the correct words. The other option involves me absorbing the pain into myself. Wasn’t real high on my list of things to do today.” I picked up the Sheriff’s phone and handed it to Damon. “Here’s her phone. She’s been searched and locked up.”

“Thank you,” Damon said quietly. “For everything.”

“Sure thing, Salvatore.”

“I do have one question for you, though. Happy fun time land?” His lips twitched and his eyes lit with mirth. So glad I could entertain him.

I shrugged as my cheeks heated. “I was trying to make a point. That’s all. Got a broom?”

Stefan disappeared into the pantry and came back with the requested item. I began sweeping up the mess. I had almost finished when there was a knock on the door. I stepped out of the kitchen and watched Elena let Caroline in. The girl dragged a large suitcase behind her.

I went back to work while the girls went downstairs. Much sooner than anticipated footsteps pounded back up. Caroline emerged from the basement, her eyes moist. Elena followed behind. She stopped at the top and glanced back down the stairs. “I have Caroline if you need to do something down there.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded as I headed toward the living room.

“Thank you,” Elena called before heading back down the steps.

Caroline sat at one end of the couch, her arms crossed in front of her. I sat beside her, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. “What’s up, blondie?”

“My mom.” Caroline growled in frustration. “I don’t know whether to be hurt or furious. She just told Damon she doesn’t want to see me because I’m not her daughter.”

I pursed my lips as I thought about what to say. “I’ve already said my piece on that. She’s letting herself be blinded by her hatred and prejudice. She only has to really see you to realize you are the same girl you’ve always been.” I leaned back. “Of course, it won’t matter because Damon’s going to compel her and she won’t remember anyway.”

“I know. I know. It’s just…” Caroline trailed off as she closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek just as Elena walked into the room.

I stood. “I’ll leave this to you. Let me know if you guys need anything. I’m going to get cleaned up.” As an emotional wreck as I could be, I didn’t handle other people’s tears well. The boys picked up my car so I took the opportunity to grab my bag, then I went up to the room I used the night before. After tossing the bloody clothes into a trash bag I found under the sink, I climbed into the shower. When I got out, I towel dried my hair and slid into an old soft pair of jeans and a faded sci fi t-shirt before putting my tennis shoes back on. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going barefoot until the kitchen had been swept a couple more times. As I came down the stairs, I interrupted a conversation between Elena and Damon.

“He didn’t drink the people blood,” Damon said. “But he needs to.”

Really? They were back on this? They stopped talking when they noticed me on the stairs. I gave them a little wave and headed into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Damon wandered in just as the coffee finished brewing.

“Want some?” I asked.

He nodded and took a seat at the table. I poured us both a cup and added creamer to mine. I glanced at him in question. “Black,” he said.

I put his cup in front of him and took the seat next to him. I sipped the hot beverage and sat my mug down. “Please tell me that you understand how ridiculous it is that you’re trying to convince my cousin that her vampire boyfriend should drink blood.”

His lips twisted in amusement. “That’s Stefan’s doing really. He’s on a bunny diet. He can’t control himself otherwise. He’s a ripper.”

Rippers were vampires that couldn’t control themselves when they fed. They often tortured and drained their victims completely. I hooked my elbow over the back of the chair. “Was he violent before he turned?”

Damon shook his head.

“A real rule follower then?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s my baby brother.”

“In that case, I’ll guess he didn’t have anyone to help him with the transition.”

He frowned, his brow furrowed. “How did you know?”

“It’s usually one or the other with rippers. In his case, he no longer had anyone to tell him the rules and his heightened emotions had him reveling in the freedom being a vampire brought him. He could control the ripper with enough practice, he just has to want to.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. He’s tried before and failed.”

“He’s lying to himself and to you if he says there isn’t a part of him that enjoys being a ripper.” I shrugged. “But what do I know? And it’s not really my business, but he needs to get his priorities in line if you’re going to be fighting werewolves and hunters.”

Damon didn’t say anything, just stared off into the distance. I assumed I wasn’t telling him something he didn’t already know.

I took another large gulp of coffee. “You want me to take off?”

He huffed a laugh. “Caroline’s on the couch. You might as well stay too.”

“She does know you have like a thousand bedrooms, right?”

He shrugged and smirked. “Sounds like Elena’s spending the night, too.”

“If you mean what I think you do. I didn’t need to know that.” I carried my mug over to the sink. “What do you want me to do with the bloody clothes?”

“We usually burn them. I’ve got to take care of mine, too, if you want to just leave them outside my door.”

“Sounds good, thanks. I’ll see you in the morning, Damon.”

***

IT WAS ALMOST THREE in the morning before my dreams woke me. I stared at the ceiling in the dark. After tossing and turning for an hour, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and called Nik. I doubted he was sleeping and if he was, he wouldn’t mind if I woke him.

“Hello, sweetheart.” His familiar, accented voice rolled through me, putting me at ease as it always did. The tension melted from my muscles and I settled deeper into my pillows.

“Hey.”

“Bad dreams?”

“Always.”

“Well, you could come over and crawl into bed with me.” His voice held a teasing tone that I’d dearly missed.

 I smiled then realized what he’d said. “Wait, are you in town already?”

He chuckled. “I was wondering if you were going to catch that. We got in a couple of hours ago.”

“How’s the house?”

“Come see for yourself.”

I wanted to, badly, but it seemed like a lot of effort. “It’s four in the morning, Nik. I’m not going anywhere but back to sleep.”

“Then let me come to you.”

“I doubt the Salvatores would appreciate the Original hybrid showing up on their doorstep in the wee hours of morning. You’re just going to have to wait. Delayed gratification and all that.”

There was a pause. “Why, may I ask, are you staying with the Salvatores? I was under the impression you had family here.”

“I do. And one of them lives in a one room apartment and my choice at the other is the couch or my cousin’s dead parents’ bed. Or I can stay with the Salvatores in their boarding house that has like a hundred rooms or so.”

“Or so.” Laughter colored his words.

“Now. How’s the house?”

He sighed. “It’s coming along. Enough of the work is done that we can live here, but they still have a bit to do. Hopefully it will be complete soon. And for the record, I’ve done away with the pretense of you having your own room.”

“How very presumptuous of you, Mr. Mikaelson.”

“As if you care, Darling. Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice quiet. It still amazed me that he cared for me.

“Try to go back to sleep then. I’ll text you the address.”

“Good night, Nik.” _I love you_ , I added to myself. Those words would definitely send him running in the opposite direction.

“Good night, sweetheart.”

I hung up the phone and put it back on the nightstand. Within moments, I was asleep.

***

“WAKEY, WAKEY, WITCHY.” Damon’s annoying voice woke me once again. I launched a pillow in his direction which he easily dodged with a laugh.

“What do you want, Salvatore?”

“Baby Gilbert is here and wants to see you.”

That woke me up fast. I hadn’t seen Jeremy since I got into town. “I’ll be down in a second.”

Damon left, shutting the door behind him. I hopped out of bed and got ready in record time. Taking the stairs two at a time I ran to Jeremy and threw my arms around his neck. “Jer! It’s so good to see you.”

He laughed and hugged me back. “You too, Cass.”

Stepping back, I did the obligatory once over that was required whenever in the presence of a growing teenager. “You look great. Like really good,” I told him and it was true.

“Thanks.” He gave me a lopsided grin as his cheeks colored.

“Have you eaten?” I headed into the kitchen.

“Yeah, but I could eat again.”

“Of course, he can. He’s a teenage boy,” Damon added as he followed us.

I examined the fridge and pulled out eggs and sausage for everyone. I tossed the sausage into a skillet. Jeremy and Damon both sat on the stools along the bar to watch me cook. I glanced at Jeremy. “So what’s up?”

“Why does anything have to be up for me to come see one of my favorite people?”

“Because you have my number and you came here which tells me that you didn’t want just anyone to hear the conversation. Like your sister, maybe?” I gave him a pointed look and he grinned.

“I did want to talk to you. And Damon, too.”

“So talk,” Damon demanded.

“Okay, so Tyler is not a werewolf. Apparently he carries the gene but you have to kill someone to activate it. Mason Lockwood is.”

“Woah,” Damon said. “You can’t just say stuff like that in front of people. What if Cassidy didn’t know about any of this?”

“I’m not stupid, Damon. Elena already told me she knows, and if she didn’t you could just compel her.”

I put the sausage on a plate and started cracking eggs. “Can’t be compelled. Sorry, Jeremy. But yes, I know. I also knew you had to kill someone to activate the curse. It’s why there aren’t many werewolves.” I shrugged as I fried the eggs. “Some trigger it by accident, but there are whole packs that are raised to kill someone just to trigger the curse.”

“How do you know this stuff?” Damon said sounding annoyed.

“It’s literally what she does, Damon. She studied paranormal myths and legends in different cultures all through college.”

“I’m glad someone pays attention when I talk.” I put a plate in front of the teenager and a second plate in front of Damon.

“There was something else,” Jeremy said. “Mason’s looking for some kind of stone. I think it has something to do with the werewolves.”

My breath caught and I froze. The moonstone? More proof the universe was working to end this curse. Too many elements were coming together here for it all to be a coincidence.

“I should call Ric. Maybe there’s something about it in that stuff we got from Isobel’s office.”

I kept my eyes on my food, afraid he’d see the eagerness on my face if I looked up. We were finally so close. Isobel had information about the curse, as well. If they already knew about it, my job was going to be a lot more complicated. It wasn’t going to be easy to get Elena to cooperate when universally, the curse said the doppelganger had to die. Damn Originals. They could have kept that part to themselves.

“Was there anything in there about a curse?” I asked, making sure to school my features before looking up.

Damon scowled, his brow furrowed. “Her assistant mentioned something about one I think. Werewolves versus vampires or something like that.”

“The Curse of the Sun and the Moon,” I clarified. “A moonstone is part of that.”

“That’s what it was—a moonstone. Wait, you mean all that stuff you wrote about is true?” Jeremy asked in disbelief.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Leave it to Jeremy to be the one person in this whole mess that read my article.

“Wait,” Damon said. “So there actually _is_ a curse that limits vampires to the night and werewolves to shifting on the full moon?”

“That’s what the legends say.” They were completely wrong but that is what they said. “Legends also say, whichever side breaks the curse will be the side that’s no longer cursed. If it’s the wolves, they’ll be able to shift at will. if it’s the vampires, they’ll be able to walk in the sun. The moonstone sealed the curse. It would have to be used in any spell to break it.”

 “You’ll excuse me if I don’t just take your word for it.” Damon pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Ric? Yeah, listen, could you see if there is anything in that stuff about a moonstone? And see if there’s anything else about that curse. Yeah, see you in a bit.”

I headed toward the door to go up to my room and pack. I needed to see the Originals. This wasn’t the kind of information I wanted to tell them over a text. I stopped in the doorway and turned back to Damon. “Just out of curiosity, where exactly do you think Isobel got most of her information?”

The vampire frowned while Jeremy laughed. I went upstairs to get ready. When I came down with my bag in hand, I heard Ric talking. “If that’s what Cassidy said, you should probably listen to her. This is what she does, you know?”

“So I’ve heard,” Damon grumbled.

I dropped my bag by the door and walked over to give Ric a kiss on the cheek. “I always knew you were brilliant. Keep telling the vampire to listen to me. I don’t think it will help, but keep telling him.”

“So we’re just supposed to believe this curse on your say so? The whole thing sounds kind of idiotic.”

I ignored him and turned to Jeremy. “So Mason is looking for the moonstone? Do you know why he thinks it’s here?”

“Apparently Mayor Lockwood had it. Tyler’s got it now.”

“Can you get it?” Damon asked.

Jeremy looked surprised. “Yeah, I think so. I thought this was stupid?”

“Legends also say that a werewolf bite can kill a vampire. I’d be a bigger idiot to ignore it. If werewolves can shift whenever they want, I’d say vampires are in a lot of trouble. Let’s go.”

“Hold up,” I said. “Where are we going? And I’m not sure I want Jeremy involved in any of this.”

“Sorry, Cass, but that’s not up to you,” Jeremy said and followed Damon who had ignored me.

Ric sighed. “I guess they’re going to the Lockwoods.”

“Hell.” I hurried after them.


	10. Chapter 10

THERE WAS A BUSTLE of activity at the manor when we arrived. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“They’re setting up for the masquerade,” Jeremy answered. “They have it every year.”

“Seriously? You guys realize no normal town has this many events, right? Most people don’t socialize with their neighbors. It’s weird.”

Damon smirked. “Welcome to Mystic Falls.”

We moved through the house, taking a detour when Damon spotted Elena. I was trailing a bit behind and arrived just in time to hear Damon tell her to get Jeremy to quit following him around. Dick. He was the one that brought him here. He just didn’t want to get in trouble with Elena if anything happened to her brother.

She looked at me. “Seriously, Cassidy? You couldn’t stop this?”

I held up my hands in surrender. “It was made very clear to me I have no power here. So…have fun with that.” I followed Damon to the backyard and left Jeremy to be lectured by his sister.

Stefan came over as soon as he saw us. He grasped my arm and led us around the side of the house to a small patio.

“Mason Lockwood is with Katherine,” Stefan said as soon as we were out of earshot.

“Whoa, where did this information come from all of a sudden?” I said.

“Bonnie had a vision.”

“Mason Lockwood?” Damon echoed with a grimace. “With Katherine? Really?” His voice dripped with disbelief. “Werewolf thing aside, he’s a surfer. She has to be using him.”

I lifted my brows but said nothing. Despite his claims to be over Katherine, he sounded jealous that she picked the wolf over him.

“What would she be using him for?” Stefan asked.

“He’s looking for a moonstone that legend says bound the Curse of the Sun and the Moon. If he gets it, he may be able to break the curse,” I explained.

“Allegedly,” Damon corrected and I rolled my eyes. “Maybe Katherine wants it too.”

“For what?” Stefan asked. “She can already walk in the sun.”

“I…I don’t know.” Damon’s shoulders slumped. “She’s been known to do things without reason before though.”

I had an idea or two. Katherine either wanted to give the moonstone to Nik in exchange for her freedom, or she wanted to hide it from him forever. It was a tossup with her.

Stefan sighed. “Fine. Whatever. Any ideas where this thing is or how to get it?”

Damon smirked. “Jeremy’s getting it from Tyler as we speak.”

“Why did you involve Jeremy?” Stefan looked at me. “You allowed this?”

I threw my hands up in frustration. “Okay, seriously, why is everyone blaming me for this?”

Damon leaned into my side. “I think you’re what passes for a responsible adult around here.”

“We are so screwed if that’s the case.”

We found Stefan at the top of a hill watching something below. Jeremy was talking to Tyler in a tent down on the lawn. When Jeremy walked off the brothers exchanged a look.

“What is it?” I asked.

“He gave the stone to Mason,” Damon answered.

“Oh good,” I said. “I like Tyler. I didn’t want to have to hurt him.”

The brothers glanced at me.

“What?”

Stefan shook his head once. “You just surprise me, that’s all.”

I looked at Damon. “It’s because I’m so blood thirsty, isn’t it?”

He laughed and hooked a hand around the back of my neck to steer me forward. “Come on, witchy. We have plotting to do.”

After they determined I didn’t get visions like Bonnie they settled on taking Mason back to the boarding house to ask him a few questions.

I leaned against the far side of Mason’s truck as I waited for him to come out of the house. His voice came to me as he shouted at someone and I prepared myself. I was positioned so he wouldn’t see me until he came around the vehicle.

“Hello, Mason,”

His head jerked up and he tried to back away but I had wrapped my magic around him before I even spoke. “What are you doing here, Cassidy?”

“Your girlfriend threatened my cousin and continues to do so. People don’t threaten my family, Mason. So I’ll tell you how this is going to go. I’ll ask you a question and you’ll answer. If you do, this ends here. Where is the moonstone?”

“Screw you.”

“Wrong answer.” I tried to move him into the truck but he struggled against my magic. I could still get him to do what I wanted, but it would take more energy than I wanted to use. “If you’re smart, you’ll stop fighting.”

When he didn’t heed my warning, I lashed out with a different spell. The werewolf dropped to his knees and grabbed his head. Damon appeared from around the truck and kneed Mason in the face to knock him out. The brothers loaded him into the back of the truck while I climbed in the passenger’s seat. Damon got behind the wheel and drove us to the boarding house.

Damon carried Mason inside and I followed behind carrying Mason’s bag from the back of the truck. It held everything he used to restrain himself during the full moon. Damon dropped our captive into a chair in the middle of the living room. I helped him spread a tarp underneath it to keep the rug from getting dirty. After that he used Mason’s chains to tie him to the chair.

“You sure you can’t do anything witchy to get the information we need?”

“I can, but it hurts.”

“I’m getting ready to torture him. You really think I care if your spell hurts him?”

“I wasn’t talking about him.”

He looked me over. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

Damon punched Mason. “Wakey, wakey.”

I sat near the fireplace and clasped my hands together in my lap as Damon knelt in front of the flames. He held the fireplace poker in his hand and was heating the metal in the fire. Mason growled in protest and screamed through clenched teeth as he struggled against the chains he had so carefully picked out for himself. He wasn’t going anywhere, though he did struggle to the point he knocked the chair backward.

It fell with a thud and Mason grunted at the impact. Damon walked over, the poker in hand.

“What?” Mason yelled at him. I didn’t really blame him. Usually you asked the question first then hurt them when they didn’t cooperate. If you were going to hurt them no matter what then what difference did it make.

Of course, Mason had tried to kill the brothers so Damon was going to make him pay for that as well.

Damon pressed the poker against Mason’s shoulder and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air making me scrunch my nose. Mason screamed in protest until Damon pulled the heated metal away. “Good, you feel pain.”

He studied the werewolf then leaned forward and flipped his shirt to the side. “But you heal fast.” He gave a little shrug. “Guess I’ll just have to keep inflicting pain.” He grabbed the chair with one hand and sat it back on all four feet.

“So how do you know Katherine? What does she want?” Damon’s voice was filled with faux innocence.

Mason spit at Damon though it fell well short of its target.

I sighed. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Mason turned his gaze to me. “Why are you letting him do this? Why are you okay with this?” He let out a scream on the last word as Damon shoved the poker into the tender flesh of his belly.

“Be nice to the witch,” Damon said and took the poker back to the fire.

The truth was I wasn’t okay with this. It would probably be new nightmare fodder, but I needed the moonstone. That’s all that mattered right now. “I told you, Katherine threatened my family. Make no mistake, Mason, Katherine is going to die. You don’t have to die with her.”

“Why would you do this? Just let me go and leave us be. Please help us.” He screamed the last and I wondered if he was more afraid for himself or his vampire girlfriend.

I stood and looked down at him. “I tried to help you, Mason. I tried to warn you away but you didn’t listen. And there is no helping Katherine. She has too much to answer for. No one screws with my family.”

“Yeah,” Damon said and thrust the poker into Mason’s other side.

“We were having a conversation here, Salvatore.”

He pulled the poker out and stepped back to the fire. “By all means, continue.”

“Okay, Mason. Tell me where the moonstone is and where Katherine is and this all stops.” I tried to sound reasonable but was sure I failed miserably. I just wanted the stupid rock.

 “I’m not telling you shit.”

I stepped back. “Have it your way.”

Damon thrust the poker into Mason’s other side. My eyes jerked up as Jeremy walked into the room carrying a box. “I thought you went home,” I said. It was one thing for him to attempt to retrieve the moonstone when one of his high school buddies had it. It was another for him to hang around while Damon tortured information out of a werewolf.

Jeremy shook his head. “I was looking through Ric’s stuff and found this.” He pulled out a piece of cloth and opened it to reveal several dried plants. Wolf’s bane. Damon put his poker down and walked over to examine Jeremy’s find.

“What is it?” he asked.

I spoke up before Jeremy had time to answer. “Wolf’s bane. It’s like their vervain.”

A wicked smile lit Damon’s face and I held up a hand to stop him. “Let me find the stone first, then do as you please.”

His eyes narrowed with worry. “I thought you said…” He trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

“Since he just got the moonstone, I won’t have to dig very far to find what we need. I should be able to do it without a lot of effort.” While it was true I shouldn’t have to dig much, I didn’t have my pocket watch which served as a focus for the spell. In addition, Mason was a werewolf. Supernatural beings were always harder to read, especially when they resisted. It was one of their natural protections.

I drew my blade from the ankle sheath and sliced the back of Mason’s hand. I cut my palm and dropped the knife. I grasped his hand with mine, mixing our blood. Closing my eyes, I put my other hand on his head. There was a lot of noise in his mind, like a constant stream of static where the channel only occasionally came in.

I pushed and dug in his brain as the wolf grunted and screamed in pain. Wet heat ran from my nose and into my mouth, filling it with the coppery-sweet taste of my own blood. “Stop, Cassidy,” Jeremy yelled.

Damon put a hand on my shoulder. “I hate to agree with the kid but maybe you should quit.”

“Leave me be. I’m fine.” Pain pierced my brain as I tried to filter out the static in his. Finally I found it, there in the midst of the noise was the moonstone. _Where did you put it, Mason?_ _The sooner you tell me, the sooner this ends,_ I said in his head. I shoved another thread of magic through his mind, making us both cry out. Suddenly, there was an image. “A well. It’s in a well. Old. Unused. It’s sealed with a grate and there is no bucket.”

I released Mason from my grip and stumbled back, as I swiped a hand across my face to wipe away the blood. Not that it did much good. It was replaced just as quickly as I got rid of it. My head was killing me, but the pain wasn’t as encompassing as when I performed the spell for Nik. Of course, I hadn’t planted thoughts in Mason’s head to make him believe he was a murder victim, either.

I snatched my blade from the floor and swayed sideways when I straightened. Damon reached for me and I held out a hand to stop him. “I’m fine. Do you know where the well could be?”

“I’m guessing somewhere on the old Lockwood property. I texted baby bro. However, you are not fine. And don’t try to tell me you are. You are very far from fine.”

His words briefly made me wonder just how bad I looked. It didn’t matter. I needed out of here. I needed Nik. Or Elijah. I’d take either brother at this point. “I will be but I need to go.”

Damon’s eyes narrowed as his brow furrowed. “I’m not sure you should be going anywhere, Grimes. Why don’t you let me or Jeremy help you upstairs and I’ll finish with wolf boy here?”

I put the blade away being careful when I stood making sure not to give away how much my head hurt or how bad my balance currently was. “I got this. Seriously. Just go about your torture. I’m going to show myself out.”

“You aren’t staying here tonight?” Damon asked, sounding surprised.

“Not tonight, Salvatore. So sorry to disappoint. Jeremy, tell Jenna I’ll be over later.”

I managed to walk straight to the door, stopping only to scoop up my bag before I left. My head throbbed and my vision blurred but I made it to my car and threw the bag into the backseat. I backed out of the drive and turned in the direction the GPS said Nik’s house was in.

I made it about a mile before I pulled over. I stumbled out of the car and around the front to drop onto all fours in the grass at the side of the road. The contents of my stomach spayed the ground. Pushing myself to my knees, I slid back to sit and rest against the tire. I leaned to the side and managed to pull my phone out of my pocket.

I pushed the button to call my favorite hybrid.

“Sweetheart! I thought you would be here by now.”

I started to say something and bile rose in my throat again. Swallowing several times, I got the urge to subside.

“Cassie?” Nik asked, concern lacing his voice.

“Sick. Spell.” The pain in my head was so intense I could feel it in my ears, in my teeth. Even my eyes ached.

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up without giving me a chance to respond.

I gave a brief thought as to how he was going to find me but knowing him he had a tracker on either the car or phone. Perhaps both.

Sure enough, before long Nik was suddenly crouched in front of me. He brushed the hair that had fallen from my clip back from my face and tucked the strands behind my ear. His face was serious as he ran his eyes over me.

He bit into his wrist and offered it to me. I grasped his arm and pressed my lips to the wound, sucking down the healing blood. Almost immediately the headache began to ease. I leaned back and wiped at my lips with my fingers. “Thanks.”

His worried eyes continued to run over me.

“I’ll be okay,” I assured him. “It’s my fault. I pushed too hard, too fast.”

He made a non-committal sound and lifted me to my feet. He pulled me away from the car to open the passenger door and helped me into the seat then climbed in behind the wheel.

I leaned against the door. “What about your car?”

“I’m faster than a car, love. I ran.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just closed my eyes. The car pulled to a stop and I opened them to look at the massive white house. “Geez, Nik. Buy a little house, did you?”

He gave me a lopsided grin, flashing a dimple. “It’s big enough for everyone, love. The whole family.”

“Not my family though, right?” I said as he opened the door to help me out. “They’re wearing me out.”

Elijah stepped outside to meet us. “Cassie? Are you quite all right?” The panicked tone of his voice verified that I looked like hell.

“Now I am, yes.”

He glanced at his brother. “I guess this explains where you went off to so quickly.”

Nik scooped me up in his arms causing me to let out a little cry of surprise. “Elijah, get her bags, would you?” He looked down at me. “Let’s get you cleaned up, sweetheart, then you can tell us all about this spell.”

That reminded me they didn’t know the most important thing. “The moonstone.”

Both of the brothers froze. “What?”

“It’s here.” I pushed against Nik’s shoulder. “Put me down.”

Nik shook his head and headed for the house. “Cassie, as much as I want to hear this, you are covered in blood. And you were in so much pain less than half an hour ago, you couldn’t talk, let alone drive. We’re taking care of you first, then we will talk.”

I wanted to argue but it wouldn’t do any good. Instead, I rested my head on Nik’s shoulder and let him carry me up to his—no, our—room. Lots of heavy wood furniture and dark colors filled the room, but it felt warm to me, familiar. Everything about it screamed Nik.

He carried me straight into the bathroom and sat me on the counter. “Strip,” he ordered then turned and stalked out of the room.

I had time to take off my clothes, scrub my face and brush my teeth before Nik strode back into the room, his own clothes having been shed somewhere during his absence. Heat flared thorough me despite my current condition. God, the man was gorgeous. I ran my gaze from his blue eyes, past his dimples and down his leanly muscled torso. I resisted the urge to go lower. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned my head against his chest.

He held me close until I felt him harden against my belly. I rubbed against him and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “None of that just now. Let’s get you cleaned up, sweetheart.”

We stepped into the shower and adjusted the water until we were both comfortable. I scrubbed at my skin, removing all traces of blood and dirt. Nik rubbed his hands along my back, digging his thumbs into my muscles, massaging away the stress. I placed my palms on the wall of the shower and leaned against it, just enjoying the feel of my lover’s hands on my body, even if there was nothing sexual in the action.

Eventually, Nik moved closer, bringing his body in line with mine. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the side of my neck.

“God, I missed you so much,” I told him.

He smiled against my skin and nipped at the tender flesh. Turning me, he pressed my back against the cool, slick tile and took my lips with his. He pulled back only far enough to look into my eyes. His fingers absently traced the long, curving scar that ran over my ribcage as he always did when we were intimate. It bothered him that I hadn’t told him the story behind it but it wasn’t something I liked to remember if I could help it.

He had his own scars from before he turned. One ran just under his collarbone and I leaned forward and pressed my lips to it. My tongue darted out to trace the line of raised flesh. He kissed me again and I pressed my hand against the wall to cast a spell for silence on the room. Then I looped my arms around the hybrid’s neck and deepened the kiss. It was good to be home.


	11. Chapter 11

I FINALLY MANAGED TO talk Nik into leaving his room after an hour or so. If it was up to me, I’d spend all night wrapped in his arms but there were things to discuss.

I went down to the living room where Elijah most likely was. Nik followed dressed only in a pair of low slung jeans. I supposed it was his protest at being forced to leave the bed. Elijah sat in a chair reading a book. He put it down and smiled as we stepped into the room.

“Cassie, it’s good to see you.” He rose to greet me and wrapped me in a warm embrace.

When he stepped back he glanced between me and his half-clad brother.

“Have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate the fact you know that silence spell?” Elijah asked.

Nik dropped into one of the chairs and propped the ankle of one leg on the knee of the other. “Now, don’t be jealous, brother. It doesn’t suit you.” He grinned like the cat that ate the canary. Or in this case, the hybrid that ate the witch. He was certainly proud of himself, that much was evident.

I went to sit on the couch and Nik grasped my wrist as I passed by to pull me onto his lap. I didn’t bother to complain because I liked it there. “Now, little sister,” Elijah said as he retook his own seat, “what is this about the moonstone?”

“Inexplicably, it’s here.”

“You’ve seen it?” he asked.

“No. Well, yes…no, not really.”

Nik’s chest moved beneath me as he chuckled. “You’re going to have to explain that, love.”

“I dug around in a werewolf’s memories to find out where he hid it. I saw it in his head. I’m not sure if they’ve actually found it or not. Where’s my phone?”

Elijah stood, presumably to fetch my phone.

“Who’s they, sweetheart?” Nik asked.

“The Salvatores.”

Nik tensed beneath me. Elijah handed me my phone with a raised eyebrow and resumed his seat. “Why would you allow the Salvatores to fetch the moonstone?” the hybrid asked in a tight voice.

I looked back at him, surprised at his anger. “I wasn’t in any shape to go after it myself. Even if I was, it was in a well somewhere. I’m not going spelunking in all the wells in Mystic Falls. Let them do the dirty work.” I ran my hand down the side of his face and pressed a kiss to his lips. He didn’t kiss me back, every muscle in his body was still tight. “We’ll get it, Nik. Don’t worry. They know this is my specialty. They’ll come to me with it.”

I unlocked my phone to see a text from Damon and opened it. _Stefan found it. Mason left town._ I snorted. Sure, he did. Damon probably killed him. He wasn’t about to leave him running around after torturing him. And I hadn’t used magic to compel him. Not that I had been in any shape to do it even if I’d wanted to.

“They got it.”

“Might I ask, how you knew the wolf had it?” Elijah asked.

“Apparently, it’s been passed down through a local family of werewolves. Oddly enough, Katherine knew this and recruited one to find it for her.”

“Recruited?” Elijah inquired.

“Seduced would probably be more accurate.” I shrugged.

Elijah pressed his lips together in distaste. I’d forgotten he had a thing for the psycho bitch at one point.

“And you are certain they will not give the stone to Katherine?” Nik asked.

“Yes. She’s threatening someone they both care for. They’ll use it against her if need be, but they won’t give it to her. I’ll get it from them later.”

“And if they won’t hand it over?” Elijah asked.

“I said I’ll get it, Elijah. My loyalties lie here. You know that.”

“Even though they’re family?” Nik asked uncertainly.

I leaned into him and gave him another kiss. This time he returned it and relaxed beneath me. “You’re family too, Nik. And I like you more.” I grinned at him as I said the last and he laughed.

“What spell was it that led you to call Niklaus for rescue?”

I leaned back against Nik’s chest. “I used the same spell I used on William. I didn’t have to dig as much, but he was a werewolf and I didn’t have my watch. It took a lot of magic. And I was angry so I was more brutal than I needed to be.”

“I assume now that we have found the moonstone you no longer will be putting yourself at risk attempting to locate it?” Nik’s hands ran up and down my arms, but I could tell he was annoyed with me.

My phone buzzed and I checked it to find a message from Jenna saying dinner was in fifteen minutes. I stood and tucked my phone in my pocket. “I need to go. Dinner with the family. I’ll be back later.”

“Your keys are on the table in the hallway,” Elijah told me.

I nodded at him in thanks before bending down and giving the hybrid a kiss goodbye. I didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to take him with me and introduce him to my family. But Nik wasn’t that kind of guy and we’d already decided it was best if he stay hidden for the time being. With that, I hurried out the door and into the car. I got to the Gilberts with three minutes to spare.

I knocked lightly as I opened the door to find Ric setting the table and Jenna handing Elena the phone. All three of them smiled at me. “Can I help?” Ric shook his head. Elena’s smile fell and she stepped away from the table, turning her back on the kitchen where Jenna was slicing bread.

Ric exchanged a look with me and shrugged. We watched Elena with wary eyes. She looked over her shoulder once, fear in her eyes. Ric mouthed “What?” but Elena held up a finger telling him to wait and turned back to her conversation. A moment later, Elena turned again. This time her eyes went wide and she dropped the phone as she yelled. “Jenna, no!”

Ric and I spun just as Jenna plunged the knife she’d been using into her stomach. Everything seemed to stop for just a second then we yelled her name and rushed over to her. I grabbed a kitchen towel from the counter and knelt beside her. I slid the knife from her stomach and covered the wound with the towel. Almost instantly, my hands were covered in her blood. Pressing down, I ignored my friend’s groan of pain. She was losing too much blood too fast.

Ric and Elena were still stunned. Jeremy joined us, having ran down from his room after Elena yelled. He had the phone to his ear talking to emergency services. I shifted my gaze to the two beside me. “Wasn’t she on vervain?”

Elena nodded, tears running down her face. “Katherine said on the phone that she replaced the tea and perfume we put it in.”

“I really hate that bitch.” I kept pressure on the wound as I studied Jenna. Her pallor was worse and her breathing had grown more shallow. Jeremy came over to join us as sirens sounded in the distance. “When they get here, I was cutting the bread and talking, not paying attention. Jenna turned and walked into the knife.” We couldn’t tell them the truth. Jenna would be in the psych ward for good.

I didn’t wait to see if they understood what I was telling them. There wasn’t time. I closed my eyes and recited a spell that allowed me to draw some of Jenna’s pain, some of her injury. It was similar to the one I said over my knife to help the Salvatores but this time I was the conduit. I wasn’t about to injure Jenna further by cutting her with another knife.

The pain rolled through me. Tears stung my eyes and fell down my face. Warmth spread across my stomach as a wound opened in the flesh there, but I would heal soon as Nik’s blood was still in my system. I kept telling myself that. Jenna was family. I had to save my family.

“Cassidy! What are you doing?” Ric yelled. “Stop!”

“It’s fine, Ric. I’ll be fine.” I kept my eyes shut even as the paramedics came into the house. Only when someone took the towel and told me they had it did I move away. I pushed myself across the kitchen on my butt, hands in the air in front of me as my friend’s blood dried on them. When my back pressed against a cabinet, I opened my eyes to take in the scene in front of me.

Paramedics worked on Jenna, putting her on a gurney and rushing her from the house. Ric and Elena glanced back at me. “Go. I’m fine.” They took me at my word and followed Jenna out of the house. Jeremy trailed behind them after one last look at me.

A police officer yelled out the door and another medic came into the house to kneel in front of me. He started to lift up my shirt but I stopped him. Explaining one supernatural stab wound was enough for one day. “I’m fine. This is all hers.”

“Are you sure?” He peered into my eyes with concern.

“Yeah.”

The police officer came over when the medic left. “Need a hand up, Miss?”

I shook my head. “I think I’ll stay right here for a moment longer. Thank you though.” I licked my lips. “I suppose I should give you a statement?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Sure you’re up to it?”

“My name is Cassidy Grimes,” I started and the officer took out a notebook and flipped it open. “I’m a friend of the family. I came over for dinner and was helping in the kitchen. We were talking, I wasn’t paying attention. Jenna turned around from the counter and walked right into the knife I was holding. It happened so fast.” It didn’t take much for me to act distressed over what had happened because I was, it just hadn’t been my fault. The problem was keeping a rein on my anger, on the need to hunt Katherine Pierce down and rip her heart out.

The officer didn’t ask any questions, merely closed his notebook and put it away. “As long as everyone’s statements agree, I’d say we’re good here. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah.” My answer apparently wasn’t convincing enough.

“Is there someone you can call to come stay with you or take you to the hospital to be with your friends?”

I nodded again. “I just need to clean up first.”

Finally, he left me alone. The officer taking pictures, left behind him. There wasn’t much point in them investigating if it was an accident. I pushed myself up from the floor, my hands shaking. I stepped around the mess on the floor and went to the sink, washing as much of the blood from my hands as I could without taking the time to really scrub. There wasn’t much point as I’d be getting them bloody again when I cleaned the floor.

After pulling out my phone, I stared at it before deciding who to call. Finally, I dialed Damon’s number. “Stefan talk to Elena yet?”

“He’s on the phone with her right now. What’s going on?”

“Katherine compelled Jenna to stab herself in the stomach. They took her to the hospital. She’ll be fine.”

“What, are you a doctor now?” he snapped but I knew the anger in his voice wasn’t for me.

“No, I’m a witch that’s willing to pay the price for her magic. I could use some help cleaning up over here.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said, his voice quiet, then he hung up.

I dug under the sink and found a bucket and a rag. I filled the bucket with soapy water and knelt down just as Damon came in the door. “Grimes.” He looked around the room assessing what needed to be done.

Honestly, the mess on the floor wasn’t that bad compared to what it could have been. But, there was blood from my hands throughout the space and the mess from dinner needed to be cleaned up. “I’m already working on this. If you want to find some containers and put the food away that would be great.”

He nodded and went to work. There was no point in throwing away perfectly good food and everyone would be hungry when they came home. I scrubbed at the floor, cleaning up the blood easily. The knife went in the trash as I was certain they wouldn’t want to use it again. Moving through the kitchen, I cleaned up blood as I found it.

I finished and looked to see Damon had finished as well. He not only put the food away, he’d washed up and put the dishes that were on the table away. He leaned against the counter at the far end of the room watching me with his arms crossed over his chest. “Do you see any I missed?”

He lifted a brow and made a show of looking me over.

“Not me, smartass. I meant the kitchen.”

He sauntered around looking things over. At one point he stopped and held his hand out for the rag. He swiped up a couple of spots on the counter. “Why is it you look like the one who got stabbed if Jenna’s the one in the hospital?”

I frowned at him. “I told you. I’m willing to pay the price for my magic.”

He shook his head once and grabbed the bucket from the floor. The dirty water was dumped in the sink and he cleaned the bucket out. He rinsed the rag as well but threw it in the trash when he finished. The bucket went back under the sink. “You’re something else, Grimes.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Salvatore.”

“You good?” he asked me, his eyes searching.

“Will be.” My phone buzzed with a text from Ric telling me Jenna would be fine and asking about me. I typed back a quick reply and put the phone away. “That was Ric. Jenna will be fine.”

“Is that thanks to you or the doctors?” he asked.

“Does it matter?” I answered his question with my own and a shrug of my shoulders.

“Do you need me to take you somewhere?”

“Nope. Just go home and take care of that rock. Stefan will need you when Elena breaks up with him.”

He scoffed. “She won’t do that.”

I locked my eyes on his. “Yes, she will. Her aunt just tried to kill herself while Katherine taunted her about it. Elena will sacrifice everything to protect the ones she loves. Haven’t you learned that yet?”

“Must be a family trait,” he said with a sober expression before walking out the door and closing it behind him.

I followed after taking one last look around to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. I double-checked the door closed and locked behind me. When I pulled up in front of the Originals’ house, I didn’t get out right away. There’d been more drama since I came to Mystic Falls than there’d been the whole time I lived with the brothers. They were going to love I’d shown up covered in blood. Again. I took a bracing breath as I climbed out of the car.

I didn’t knock when I got to the door; it was my home too after all. I stepped through the door as Greta passed through the entryway. “Are you kidding me? Couldn’t you have left her in New York?” My voice was slightly raised as Nik was nowhere to be seen.  He could hear me though. The fact he hadn’t emerged yet meant he was hiding. Coward.

“I advised him to leave her behind but he insisted she was necessary.” Elijah’s voice moved closer as he talked. “Why do I smell blood?” He stepped into view and his brow furrowed as he took in my appearance.

“Why do I smell _your_ blood?” Nik bellowed from upstairs. I glanced up as he stepped into view then he was standing inches away from me in a flash. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I thought you were going to dinner. What happened?”

His worry warmed me. I placed a hand along the side of his face in an attempt to calm him. “I’m fine. Jenna was injured and I cast a spell to take part of it so she would live. I healed fast because I still had your blood in me.”

His eyes darkened with his anger and he continued to look at me without saying anything. That muscle still worked in his jaw. I glanced over his shoulder to see Greta still standing there, scowling. I shifted my gaze to Elijah. “Is she okay? I’ve been here for several minutes now and she still hasn’t said anything snarky.”

Elijah gave me a half-smile. “Niklaus threatened to rip her tongue from her mouth if she so much as said hello without your permission.”

I turned back to the angry hybrid in front me. I pressed my palm against his chest and patted gently. “Aw, honey, you do care.”

He grasped one of my wrists with his hand and turned to stalk away, pulling me behind him. He yanked me into a room on the first floor I hadn’t seen yet. The art in various stages of completion scattered about and the heavy desk to one side marked it as Nik’s studio and office. My breath caught as it always did when I saw his work. He was so talented, could create so much beauty with a pencil or a brush. It never ceased to astound me.

He closed the door behind us and released me before stalking over to pour himself a drink. I moved over to look at the painting he was currently working on. The shades of blue and green were stunning. It took me a moment to realize it was the greenhouse the night he’d rescued me from the Other Side.

He came to stand beside me and handed me a drink. “We all have our nightmares,” he said before walking over to sit behind his desk. I followed him with my gaze. He turned his chair so his back faced me. “I think it’s time to end this, don’t you?” His voice was cold, bitter.

My breath caught as my chest grew tight. A sick feeling settled in my belly. “What are you talking about, Nik?”

“This. Us.” He turned back around so he faced me but his eyes still didn’t meet mine. “It’s been fun but it’s time for me to move on. Us to move on. Every tale has its ending, sweetheart. This is ours.”

Hot tears of frustration burned behind my eyes. My chest ached and there was a lump in my throat I couldn’t seem to swallow. Part of me knew he didn’t want this any more than I did. He was running away. He’d told me more than once love was a vampire’s greatest weakness. And God knew, Nik could never stand being weak.

But the rest of me just hurt that he would let me go, though I’d been a fool not to see it coming. The tears I’d been trying to hold back escaped and ran down my cheeks. A thousand arguments ran through my head, a thousand words to make him change his mind, but I wasn’t going to beg.

I swiped the tears away with an angry motion. After draining my glass, I walked over and set it on his desk. “Katherine compelled Jenna to stab herself. That’s why I had to heal her. Katherine’s dead, Klaus. I’m going to kill her.” He flinched, but still didn’t look at me. “You had your chance, now she’s mine.”

As I turned to leave the room, tears lined my cheeks once more.  I needed to get out of this house before I fell on my knees and begged him not to do this. For the first time in so long, I hadn’t been alone. I’d had a lover and a brother and Nik took it all away in seconds.

“Why do you do it?” he asked.

I stopped but didn’t turn to face him. I couldn’t find the strength. “Do what?”

“You’re always harming yourself to help others. Why?”

“Because that’s what love is. Putting someone else first. And it sucks, and it’s scary, but it’s worth it because you’d do anything for them to be safe and happy. Because the thought of them hurting breaks your heart.” I didn’t wait for a response or even look over my shoulder before I walked out, slamming the door behind me.


	12. Chapter 12

ALL OF MY THINGS had been unpacked, either by Nik or someone else. Hot tears continued to stream down my face as I found a suitcase in the closet and carried it out to the bed to begin packing. I didn’t even try to make them stop. What was the point? I gathered my toiletries and shampoo from the bathroom.

“What is going on?” Elijah said from the doorway, causing me to jump a little. I’d been so focused on my task, I hadn’t heard him come in.

“I’m packing.”

“I can see that, little sister. Allow me to be more specific. Why are you packing and why is my brother destroying God knows what in his office?”

A little flash of hope went through me at hearing Nik wasn’t unmoved but I squashed it like the ugly bug it was. Hope just led to more broken hearts. “Your brother broke up with me, if you can even call it that. It’s not like we ever sat down and had any sort of relationship discussion. We just kind of happened. I think it best if I go elsewhere. I need my things to do that.”

The Original said something under his breath that I didn’t catch. “Niklaus is a prat. We both know he’s making a mistake. Where are you going?”

I shrugged and grabbed underwear and pajamas from the dresser. “Does it matter?” My voice broke and I grimaced.  

I turned to go back to the dresser to find Elijah standing right in front of me. He used a hand to lift my chin. His eyes looked me over, taking in my haggard appearance and the tears still streaking down my cheeks. He pulled me against his chest into a tight hug. “Stay. Talk to him.”

“I’m not going to beg him to keep me, Elijah. I have a small bit of pride left.”

“Then just stay. You don’t have to talk to him. Most of our family doesn’t when they aren’t daggered. There’s plenty of room. You’re family. You belong here.”

I pulled back from him and swiped my fingers across my cheeks to remove the tears. “That would be slightly awkward don’t you think?” I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. You have my number if you need me.”

“Cassie—”

I held up a hand to cut him off. “Just let me go, Elijah. I can’t stay here. Please don’t ask me to do that.”

He looked me over one more time then nodded and left the room. I emptied the rest of my things from the dresser then went into the closet to try to decide what to bring of the ample wardrobe Nik had purchased for me.

A shadow fell over me as someone stepped into the doorway of the closet. “I told you I need to go, Elijah. Please just let me finish packing so I can get out of here.”

“And what if I asked instead of my brother?” Nik’s voice brought a new shot of hope with it and I stubbornly shut it down. I was getting good at that.

I grabbed a random handful of clothes and turned, waiting for him to step aside so I could get past. He moved out of my way and I walked over to the bed. “You made yourself quite clear, Klaus. I’m leaving, just give me a little time.”

“Don’t call me that,” he snapped.

I glanced at him. “What? Klaus? It’s your name, isn’t it?”

He wrapped a hand around one of the bedposts and gripped it tightly. “Not for you. You call me Nik.”

I shook my head but didn’t say anything. He didn’t get it hurt too much to call him that, to be the only one allowed to when I didn’t have him anymore.

He stepped between me and the closet when I moved to go back. “Stay.”

I looked up at him, my heart aching. “Why? What is there for me to stay for?”

“Me.”

Pain stabbed through me. It wasn’t enough for me to stay for him, not when he didn’t want me. “If you’re worried about the ritual, don’t be. I’ll do as I said. I always intended to, even before we were…whatever we were. Please move.”

“You love me.” It was a statement of fact not a question and I hated that I was so transparent.

I dropped onto the edge of the bed. I put my head in my hands. “Since when does that matter?”

“You don’t deny it then?”

“I don’t really see the point. It’s not enough to make me stay anymore. I told myself it was, but it isn’t. It hurts too much to love you.”

I don’t know if he understood what I was saying but I was too exhausted to explain any further. When he didn’t say anything, I walked past him to the closet, keeping my head down. It was only a matter of seconds before a warm chest pressed against my back as Nik molded himself around me. One arm pressed against my chest while the other wrapped around my belly as he pulled me tightly against him. I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensation. Just for a moment. “Nik, please.” My voice broke and I wasn’t entirely certain what I was asking him for. I just needed the hurt to stop.

He held me in place as he talked, his breath tickled my neck as he tilted his head to rest next to mine. “I’ve been alive for a long time, Cassie. People don’t surprise me anymore. But that’s all you’ve done from the moment I met you. Again and again, you’ve hurt yourself or risked yourself to help others. To help me. And you’ve never asked me for anything. Even when I would have given you the world.”

Unable to help myself, I laid my hands over his while he spoke, not willing to let him go just yet.

“You never asked for money, or power, or even my time. You expected nothing from me. You yelled at me when I tried to give it to you. But I…I wanted so much from you, sweetheart. And you gave it to me without me even asking.”

Suddenly, he let go of me and I turned to find him with his back to me. One hand was propped on his waist and the other was hooked around the back of his neck. “It’s never been your injuries that bothered me, it is your completely nonchalant attitude about it. It was over, it was no big deal. You did what you thought needed to be done, damn the consequences. And you will continue to do as you see fit and return to me bloody and exhausted. I don’t get scared, Cassie. Not anymore. I’ve gone to great lengths in my life to make sure that never happened again. And every time I see you like that, it terrifies the bloody hell out of me.”

A smile curved the corner of my mouth. Niklaus Mikaelson loved me, whether he wanted to admit it or not. My heart felt a thousand pounds lighter. I gave a dramatic sigh. “I can’t help it if I’m scary, Nik. This is just the way I am.”

He spun so fast, I barely saw the movement. A half second later, his arms wrapped around me and pulled me tightly against his chest. “I thought if I pushed you away, if you left, it would get better, but I was wrong. As soon as you walked out of my office I realized I would never stop worrying about you. Stay with me, Cassie. Remind me every day that I’m an idiot if you have to, but stay.”

His eyes begged me to say yes, to forgive him and stay here with him. It only took a minute to decide it was enough to know he loved me, even if he never said it. It was enough for now, anyway. I’d deal with tomorrow later because I was weak and I loved this man even if it broke me someday. “You’re an idiot, Nik.”

He grinned, knowing he had me. “So I’ve been told.” His lips claimed mine in a hungry embrace and I melted against him, wishing this moment would last forever.

***

I ATTEMPTED TO TALK to the Salvatores several times the next day but they brushed me off every time. It made me uneasy. I needed that stupid rock. Finally, I couldn’t be still any longer. I grabbed my keys and leaned over the back of Nik’s chair to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be back,” I told him. “I’m going to check on Jenna.”

He made a noise of agreement but grabbed my wrist as I stepped away and pulled me back. His lips pressed against mine and I kissed him back. “Be careful, sweetheart,” he said as he released me.

I had just put my foot on the bottom step of the Gilbert’s front porch when the door opened. Elena was sneaking out. “Going somewhere, cousin?” I asked with a lifted brow and resisted the urge to laugh when Elena jumped.

The girl pressed a hand against her chest. “Cassidy. Holy crap. You scared me.”

“So I see. Where are you sneaking off to, may I ask?”

Elena crept across the porch and motioned me away from the house. We stopped near my car. “Something is going on,” she confessed in a low voice. “Everyone’s been avoiding me and Jeremy and Stefan both went to the masquerade. Neither of them would go unless they had something planned. I think it has to do with Katherine.”

I jerked my head toward the car. “Get in.” Elena didn’t hesitate.  I drove to the Lockwoods and parked in the grass off to the side so we wouldn’t have to mess with the valet.

Elena started for the house but I redirected her around the side. We were here to find out what was going on and our jeans and t-shirts were going to make us very easy to spot if we just walked into the festivities. Fortunately, the Lockwoods believed in thick, natural landscaping and there were plenty of places to hide. We managed to situate ourselves in a large plant near the house without being seen. Within minutes, Jeremy walked by and Elena grabbed him by the arm to pull him to a stop.

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

His eyes darted between us and his mouth opened and closed as he decided what to say. Finally, he took Elena’s arm and led her to a picnic table away from the party. “Okay, look—” he started only to be cut off.

“We’re going to kill Katherine,” a female voice said drawing my attention as Bonnie stepped up beside Jeremy. Bonnie was one of Elena’s closest friends and a witch from what the Salvatores told me.

“Here? Are you crazy?” Elena asked.

“We know what we’re doing,” Bonnie argued and I couldn’t stop the snort that escaped at that statement. They had no clue what they were doing and they were going to underestimate Katherine. She’d survived five hundred years running from the Originals, she wasn’t going to be taken down by two vampires a third her age and a handful of teenagers.

“She needs to be stopped. She threatened to kill everyone in town unless we gave her the moonstone.” Jeremy looking insulted by my disbelief.

“I’m not going to argue with the fact that Katherine needs to go, Jer,” I said. “I just don’t think you guys are going to be the ones to do it. Please tell me the Salvatores at least realized they could just tell her the moonstone was here and they left it hidden somewhere safe?”

Bonnie and Jeremy both looked embarrassed and turned their eyes to the ground.

“I’ll take that as a no.” I started to head for the house to make sure the vampires didn’t screw this up when Elena yelled in pain. I snapped back around to see the girl gasping in pain and reaching behind her. There was a large bloodstain on her shirt but no sign of anything that could have caused her injury.

“They’re linked,” I said immediately, having seen this before. Everything that happened to Katherine would affect Elena as well. My eyes jerked up to meet Jeremy’s. “She’s linked to Katherine. You’ve got to get them to stop.”

Jeremy ran off and Bonnie followed behind. “I’ll find the witch that cast the spell,” she said over her shoulder. Another wound blossomed on Elena’s arm and she screamed again.

I helped her sit on the bench. “I’m going to fix this. If I don’t come back, slap the hell out of me.” She looked at me in confusion but there was no time to explain. “Promise me!” I yelled, giving the girl a little shake.

Elena gasped. “Yes. Yes. I promise.”

I peeled off my shoes and socks so my feet were bare against the earth. Keeping a grip on Elena, I recited the spell that allowed me to slip over to the Other Side. God, I hoped I didn’t get stuck. Nik would never forgive me. Focusing, I kept myself from going all the way over and hovered in the land in between where I could see the magic linking Elena and Katherine. It was a bright, angry red. I severed it with a thought and slipped back into my own body.

I looked at Elena. “How long has it been?”

“Um…a minute?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Perfect. Stay here. I need to help the Salvatores.”

Elena nodded, obviously stunned and I ran toward the house. I ignored the looks and sharp words from the people I knocked into as I ran past. Jeremy was coming down the stairs as I headed up. “She’s fine. Go stay with her. I’ll take care of this.”

Jeremy nodded and continued down. I moved carefully up the stairs, not wanting to give away my presence too soon. “This is really going to hurt,” Katherine said.

“Wait,” Damon yelled to stop the bitch from whatever she was about to do.

I leaned beside the door, listening to them antagonize and snipe at each other. I could feel the magic from the containment spell on the room, and could drop it if I wanted, but I hoped Katherine’s pride would get the better of her and she’d confess her plan.

After several minutes of inane conversation, it became apparent Katherine wasn’t going to tell them anything. When she started talking to Stefan about some concert he went to with his friend Lexi, I rolled my eyes and stepped into view. “I think I speak for everyone Katherine when I say none of us care about your stalkerish tendencies.”

Damon and Stefan both looked surprised to see me though they quickly smothered it. Katherine curled her lip. “You,” she snarled.

I smiled. “Me.”

“Go get your witch to let me out of here.” Katherine stepped closer, though I stayed just on the other side of the barrier.

“I am a witch and I don’t think I’ll be letting you go anywhere.”

The vampire pinched her lips together in an ugly expression. “I suppose I’ll just have to teach you a lesson as well.”

“Maybe. I’m kind of hard-headed.” Damon glared at me over Katherine’s head, doubtless pissed at me for irritating the vampire. I signaled with my hand for him to back off. He frowned but gave a little nod.

Katherine shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She pulled out a stake and pressed it against her stomach. “Get your witch in line boys or Elena’s going to regret ever meeting you.”

“Cassidy, that’s enough.” Stefan’s eyes grew wide with fear.

“Yeah, maybe it’s time to back off, Cass,” Damon agreed.

“I don’t think so. This is just getting interesting.”

Katherine stabbed herself in the stomach with the stake and bent over with a scream. I gave a mock grimace of sympathy. “That has to hurt.”

“Damn it, Cassidy,” Stefan yelled. “She’s linked to Elena.”

Katherine, still bent over, looked up at me with a self-satisfied smile on her face.

I lifted my brows as I slipped my hands into my pockets. “Oh, I took care of that before I ever came up here. You didn’t really think I’d put my cousin at risk, did you?”

The smile fell from Katherine’s face as she dropped the stake and straightened. “Who are you?” she hissed.

Damon started to come up behind her with another stake and I gave a little shake of my head. I wanted Katherine dead as much as he did but I had something special planned for the vampire doppelganger.

“You and I, we have the same friends.” I tilted my head to look at the vampire. “Well, they’re _my_ friends at any rate. I’m not sure what you would call them. They’ve been looking for you for a very long time. They’ll be so pleased to hear I’ve found you…Katerina.”

Katherine’s eyes went wide and she paled as she realized I was talking about the Originals. “No. No, you don’t understand,” she said as she held an arm out in front of her and shook her head.

“And who are you?” I turned to look at the woman who had just appeared at the top of the stairs. She had long hair and mocha colored skin just a shade or two lighter than Bonnie’s.

She held up her hands to show that she had the moonstone. “I’m a witch who owed Katherine a favor. That’s all.”

“Play nice,” I said to the vampires. I stepped over to meet the witch and I was no longer in view of the people in the room.

“Lucy, get me out of here,” Katherine demanded.

I didn’t say anything when I got to the witch, just held out my hand for the moonstone. The woman handed it over. There was a spell tied to it that would temporarily incapacitate Katherine. Her witch intended to betray her. How lovely.

“I know who you are,” Lucy said. “I know what you can do.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

“You don’t know the half of it, sweetheart,” I said in a low voice, though I was curious what rumors were going around. “Go on. Return your moonstone.”

I handed her the stone then stepped to the side and leaned against the wall. Lucy walked over to the open door and removed the containment spell. “Katherine,” she said and held up the stone.

“I guess my witch is better than your witch,” Katherine’s snarky voice drifted to me and I rolled my eyes.

After getting Katherine’s word that they were even, Lucy dropped the containment spell and handed Katherine the rock. She began to gasp for air and the witch looked at me. “I’m sorry for my part in this.” I merely nodded and stepped back into view.

Damon and Stefan glanced between me and the vampire on the floor. “We can’t kill her yet. She might know something useful.” I kicked her foot with the toe of my shoe, smiling when it flopped limply. I went to grab the moonstone from the floor but Stefan beat me to it.

“We’ll lock this in the tomb with Katherine,” he said.

I shrugged as if it didn’t matter and in a way, it didn’t. As long as I knew where it was, I could retrieve it later. “You should go talk to Elena. Tell her I’ll be waiting by the car when she’s ready.”

Stefan passed the moonstone off to his brother and headed off to find Elena.

“Grimes,” Damon said stopping me when I turned to leave. He looked at me as if he were trying to figure me out. “Thanks. Again.”

I gave him a small smile. “In case you haven’t noticed Salvatore, your witch has no idea what she’s doing. And she’s afraid to take risks. You have my number.”

I detoured by the picnic table to grab my shoes and socks then sent a text to Nik letting him know I’d be back soon as I walked to the car. Elena still wasn’t there and I tossed my phone in the car and leaned against the side to wait for her.

“Hey, Cass,” Elena said and I looked over with a smile. “Sorry I took so long.”

“Not a problem. If I was in a hurry I would have told Stefan. How are you feeling?”

“Much better thanks to you.” Elena flashed a grateful smile as she stood in front of me. “I feel like that’s a running theme around here lately.”

I shrugged one shoulder. “It’s what I do. Drives my boyfriend nuts.” A man stepped from the shadows, his face covered with a full mask. “Can we help you?” I asked, not wanting to overreact. This was a masquerade after all, but something told me this guy was up to no good. I slid into a defensive stance and Elena turned with a gasp.

The man grabbed Elena and I concentrated on him as a murmured a string of words. Suddenly, he was engulfed in flames as if I’d doused him in gasoline and thrown a match in his direction. I smirked as he shrieked and released Elena as he tried to put out the flames.

“Cassidy!” Elena yelled. Before I could react to the warning, something heavy and hard hit my head and everything went dark.


	13. Chapter 13

_NIK IS GOING TO be so pissed,_ was the first thing I thought when I woke. My head ached and the side of my neck burned. I was bound wrist to ankle, which really didn’t make any sense as I could still do magic.  Not that I was about to point that out to anyone. Nobody ever accused kidnappers of being smart.

“Cassidy?” Elena said.

“I’m awake.”

She ran over and knelt in front of me. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better. What happened?”

Her lips twitched. “You set one of them on fire and they knocked you out.”

“Did I kill the bastard?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. They threw us in a trunk before I could see. I would say he’s not in the best shape though. He was really burning.”

She helped me into a sitting position and I groaned with the movement. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the ropes that bound me. They burned away in a flash of heat and flame. The skin underneath burned as well. It stung but the burn wasn’t bad. I’d worry about it later.

I lifted a hand to my neck and my fingers came away sticky with blood. “What happened to my neck?”

“There are two vampires here. The male wanted to feed on me but the woman wouldn’t let him. They decided you were fair game though. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” Once I found out who he was, he wouldn’t live long anyway. If I didn’t kill him, Nik would. “Do you know why we’re here?”

Elena nodded, looking nervous. “They want to trade me to someone named Elijah.”

I laughed. Pain pierced my head and I tried to stop but it was just too good. For once, things were going my way.

“Why are you laughing? They said Elijah was my worst nightmare.”

“Don’t worry about Elijah.”

Elena looked around to make sure their captors weren’t near. “She also said the Originals wanted to sacrifice me to break the Curse of the Sun and the Moon.”

I scrunched my nose. Thank you, random kidnapper for making my life more difficult. “Yeah, sacrifice is kind of a strong word. Nobody’s going to kill you.”

“How do you know all of this? And why didn’t you say anything?”

I grimaced, not entirely from pain this time. “I couldn’t just waltz into town and say ‘hey now that you know about the supernatural your blood is needed to end a thousand year old curse. But it will be fine. No worries.’ I’ve been working up to it.”

“Oh, look. She’s awake,” said a heavily accented voice and I glanced past Elena to see a female vampire. “Sorry you got pulled into this, but we couldn’t have you blabbing to everyone what happened, and bodies just draw attention. We’ll let Elijah decide what to do with you.”

“You do that.” I wrapped my magic around the woman’s throat and started to squeeze, cutting off her air flow. It wouldn’t kill her permanently, but it would put her out of commission long enough for us to get the hell out of here. The vampire gasped and clawed at her throat. I almost had her when something struck the side of my face and everything went black again.

This time I woke to a warm hand on my cheek and a familiar voice. “And this one?”

My eyes fluttered open and I found myself meeting Elijah’s eyes. I could see the fury build in him as he catalogued each of my injuries.

“She’s a witch. She was with the doppelganger and killed one of the men. They had to knock her out. When she woke up she tried to kill Rose so I had to do it again,” a male voice answered somewhere behind Elijah.

He arched a brow and his lips cocked to the side. I gave a little shrug. He didn’t expect me to just let them kidnap us, did he? I had to admit I was happier than I should have been to hear I’d killed the one I set on fire. Bastards. Elijah grasped my chin in his hand and turned my head to the side. The skin pulled around the bite and I scowled. He released me and I turned back to see a muscle in his jaw twitch as he clenched his teeth. “And the bite? I assume she didn’t give permission?”

“Well, it’s not as if she was going to say yes,” the male answered again. “What difference does it make?”

In a flash, Elijah was gone. A swift movement of one arm and he beheaded the vampire that admitted to snacking on me, a spray of blood followed behind. The female cried out and took a step toward Elijah. “Don’t, Rose. Not now that you’re free.”

He glanced back at me then stepped toward Elena who cowered away from him. Well, of course she did. Damn Original. Like she was going to believe he wouldn’t kill her now. Elena said something about the moonstone and I shook my head slightly to tell Elijah I already knew where it was.

He held out a hand to my cousin. “Come. We have a long way to travel.”

I mentally groaned. Of course, he couldn’t say in front of the other vampire that he was taking her home, but seriously? He could stand to be a little less creepy. Glass shattered somewhere upstairs. This time I groaned out loud. The Salvatores. It had to be. It seemed their little witch was at least competent enough to pull off a locate spell.

Elijah glanced at me and I rolled my eyes. He smirked before hurrying Elena and Rose into the other room to confront whoever was in the house. A weapon discharged in the other room and I struggled to my feet. Almost immediately I fell back down. Damn it. My head was not in good shape.

Elijah raised his voice and told them he merely wanted to talk. Then they must have done something stupid because he started yelling that they wouldn’t be able to beat him. Closing my eyes, I concentrated and cast a spell of protection over the people in the house. Well, the ones I cared about anyway. Rose could rot but I’d prefer Elijah not kill either of the Salvatores. Permanently anyway.

After several long, tense minutes, Damon appeared at the top of the stairs that overlooked the room. He smirked at me then flashed down to stand over me. “Grimes.”

“Salvatore.”

Damon ran his fingers over my injuries. He winced when I flinched from his touch. “You okay, witchy?”

I lifted my chin in the affirmative. “Might I ask what you did with Elijah?”

“Was he the one in the suit?”

I nodded.

“Then I killed him.” His voice was proud as he grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes. “No. You didn’t.”

Damon helped me to my feet. He kept my arms grasped in his hands to steady me. Considering how much my head was swimming it was a good thing he did. “No offense, but I think you’re wrong on this one seeing as he’s pinned to a door and all.”

He helped me up the steps and Elena ran over to throw her arms around my waist. I let out a grunt at the impact. My eyes fell on Elijah’s form hanging from the door as I wrapped an arm around her. That had to hurt.

“Thank you for the rescue, gentlemen, such as it was. Elijah wouldn’t have hurt us. Either of us.”

Damon snorted and looked at me like I was insane. “I realize you probably haven’t seen a mirror, but you have to know you don’t look good.”

I gave him a lopsided smile. “That would be thanks to the assholes that kidnapped us, not Elijah. In fact, the vampire in there lost his head for this. Elijah doesn’t like it when people hurt the ones he cares about.”

“You can’t be serious, Cass. He was terrifying,” Elena said.

I glanced at Damon. “Take her home. I’ll stay behind.”

“And how exactly do you intend to get home, Grimes? We’re three hours from Mystic Falls.”

I sat on the stairs. “Like I said, he’s not dead. And he’s going to be pissed when he wakes up. You should be gone. I’ll stay and take care of him.”

Stefan wrapped his arms around Elena. “How can you honestly believe he’s still alive?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Okay, let’s try it this way. He brought a car right?”

The brothers nodded.

“Then if I’m wrong and he’s really dead, I’ll drive his car home.” When no one answered, I sighed. “Believe it or not, I’m used to this sort of thing. I’m fine. I can deal with it. Elena is not. Take her home.”

That got them moving. Damon paused at the door and looked between the Original and me. “You sure you’re okay, witchy?”

“Go on, Salvatore. I’ll text you later.”

He took me at my word and left though I could tell he wasn’t happy about it. When I was certain they had enough of a head start, I got to my feet. I held onto the railing until the room quit spinning. A modified coat rack pinned Elijah to the door. It didn’t budge when I pulled on it. I went through his pockets until I found his phone which had been shattered during the altercation. Great.

Taking a deep breath, I grasped the wood again and pulled. It shifted a little and I stopped. My stomach rolled with the exertion and I moved to the side of the room and vomited. I braced one hand against the wall to keep me upright as I breathed. By this point, I was certain I had a concussion. Eventually, Elijah would wake up and be able to free himself but I didn’t really want to wait around for that happen. I was going to have to use my magic to free him and I wasn’t sure it would work. With my head like this, I was having problems concentrating.  

I moved back over to Elijah and wrapped my hands around the makeshift stake. Calling up my magic, I wrapped it around the stake as well. In one swift motion, I pulled back with my strength and my magic. The wood came loose and I let it clatter to the floor as I surged forward to keep Elijah from collapsing completely. He was too heavy for me to keep upright, but I lowered him to the floor so he wouldn’t drop. I fell to the floor beside him and laid my head against him just before I passed out.

Fingers brushing hair out of my face and a voice calling my name woke me. “That’s like the third time I’ve passed out. That can’t be good.”

“You need blood,” Elijah’s practical voice said from beneath me.

I pushed myself to a sitting position with a groan. “That would be lovely, but I’m not drinking from you. You just died.”

He started patting down his jacket.

“Phone’s toast,” I told him at the same time he pulled it from his pocket.

“So I see.” His lips pursed in distaste. “I don’t suppose you know who your rescuers were, do you?”

“They’re long gone, Elijah.”

“That is not what I asked, Cassidy.”

“Do you think you can get us home?” I asked instead of answering his question.

His scowl told me it did not go unnoticed. “I’m sure I can but I think the better option would be the little town I passed through near here. They had a hotel. Niklaus could bring us what we need.”

I groaned, knowing he was right but not looking forward to facing the hybrid just yet.

“I would compel a meal, but I’m not sure I have it in me right now to be honest. And I don’t want to leave you alone while I go hunting and dispose of a corpse.”

“No. No. Let’s call Nik. He’s just going to be so unhappy with me.”

Elijah frowned. “It’s not as if any of this was your fault.”

“Feelings, Elijah. He has feelings when I get hurt. He doesn’t like it.”

He looked at me in stupefied silence and then laughed, loudly. “Oh, Cassidy. You are a treasure.” He got to his feet and held out a hand to help me up. I placed my palm in his and breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled me up slowly. He frowned when I rocked on my feet. “You’re in worse shape than I thought.”

I didn’t say anything, nor did I complain when he picked me up to carry me to the car. I remained silent on the way to the hotel though I could feel Elijah’s heavy gaze on me. The truth was, I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I’d get sick again. I hated feeling like this.

Finally, we arrived at the promised hotel and I stayed in the car while Elijah arranged for the room. When he returned, he opened my door and lifted me out to carry me to the room, setting me down only to open the door. He placed me on the bed and reached for the phone on the nightstand. He dialed Nik’s number from memory while I watched. I was starting to feel better now that I was no longer moving.

“It’s me,” Elijah said as Nik answered the phone. “She’s here with me. There’s no time right—” He stopped and glanced down in surprise when I laid my hand against his side. I held it out for the phone when I had his attention.

“Nik,” I said when I placed the phone to my ear.

There was a deep sigh of relief. “Cassie.”

“We’re okay, but Elijah needs blood. It’s faster for you to get here than vice versa.”

“All right, sweetheart. Let me talk to Elijah.” Nik’s voice was quiet, tender. I rarely heard him this way.

“I’m sorry, Nik.” I handed the phone over as hot tears started leaking from my eyes. Elijah’s eyes never left mine as he gave Nik the address and room number. He hung up the phone and sat on the edge of the bed next to me, taking my hand in his. I sucked in a breath as I sobbed and covered my eyes with my other hand.

“Shhh. It’s okay, Cassie.”

I shook my head and flinched at the pain that tore through my brain with the motion. “He’s going to be so angry. I told him I’d be careful.”

“Is that why you didn’t tell him you were injured?”

I moved my hand so I could look at him. “I thought maybe he wouldn’t come.” This insecurity was stupid, I knew that, but that didn’t make it go away. The truth was, Nik was the first man I ever really loved and he wasn’t just a man. He was an emotional, irrational hybrid.

Elijah sighed and I felt bad for burdening him with my issues. “Cassie…Niklaus…” he trailed off as he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. “I have never seen him as he was last evening. When you didn’t come home after you texted, he tracked your car and your phone. Finding both left at the Lockwoods with no sign of you about…he was terrified. If he is angry when he gets here, it will be anger at me for killing the man that did this to you and stripping him of the opportunity.

When we received the call about Elena we hoped you were with her but we couldn’t be sure. That’s why he did not accompany me. He has been looking for you. Even our witches could not locate you.”

I frowned. “That shouldn’t be possible unless…” I trailed off. The Original witch had that kind of power. If she kept them from finding the moonstone for five hundred years, she could keep them from finding me for a day.

“Unless what, Cassie?”

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think your mother is trying to kill me.”

Elijah blinked as if uncertain how to process what I just told him. “You should discuss this with Niklaus.”

“I will. Eventually. He can only handle so much at a time.”

He frowned.

“I know I’m being stupid about all of this, Elijah. But I love him. As much as I didn’t want to, I do. I don’t want to lose him.”

“I know you do, little sister.” He shifted on the bed so it was easier for him to look down at me. “How certain are you this spell of yours will work? The one that is meant to bring you back after the sacrifice.”

“Seventy percent?” I lied. The odds weren’t near that good.

“Oh, Cassie.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Releasing my hand, he stood and removed his jacket, tossing it on the end of the bed. He rolled up his sleeves as he paced the floor.

Sudden fear spiked through me. “You can’t tell Nik. He needs to do this.”

“You think I don’t know that?” he yelled and I cringed. He stopped walking and sighed, dropping his head forward. “I’m sorry. You’re just very important to both of us. You brought us back together, Cassie. I can’t stand the thought we might lose you.”

I didn’t say anything. I was supposed to die when I was seventeen in a car accident with my parents. I had been saved to end Nik’s curse. If I managed to survive, great, but I wasn’t counting on it.

“I have a potion.” Elijah sat next to me again. “I procured it for Katerina, but she fled before I could tell her. A coven of witches made it. It was supposed to preserve her life and bring her back after the sacrifice.”

My eyes widened in hope. “So I drink your potion and use my spell and the odds increase dramatically.”

Elijah nodded, deep in thought. “I hope so.”

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door causing me to jump. I knew Nik was fast, but I wasn’t expecting him this soon. Elijah opened the door and Nik thrust a cooler at him before pushing past him into the room. “How badly are you hurt, love?” he asked as he rounded the bed and threw his jacket on the end with Elijah’s.

“How did you know?” I asked quietly as he hovered his hands over my body looking for injuries.

He pierced me with those eyes. “If you were uninjured, you simply would have fed Elijah yourself. If you were not injured badly, he wouldn’t have hesitated to leave you to hunt. I didn’t get to be a thousand years old by being stupid, sweetheart.” His eyes flicked between my eyes and my neck and he swallowed, no doubt trying to rein in his anger.

“I’m fairly certain she has a concussion. You can see the rest of it,” Elijah said between blood bags when it became evident I wasn’t going to say anything.

“And the person responsible?”

“Dead,” Elijah said.

He was right, Nik did look angrier at the prospect he couldn’t exact his own revenge.

I gave him a hesitant smile. “Elijah took his head off with one sweep of his hand. It was quite brilliant really. It scared the crap out of your doppelganger though.”

“Well, given the circumstances I can’t really fault him for that, now can I?” He picked me up then sat back on the bed with me in his lap. He bit into his wrist and held it up for me. “Drink up, sweetheart.”

I pressed my lips to the wound and drank down his blood. Almost instantly I started to feel better. When I felt I had enough, I stopped drinking and just laid my head against his chest. I pressed against him, seeking his comfort. He wrapped one arm around my waist and ran the fingers of his other hand up and down my spine. “I’m sorry, Nik.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Cassie.”

“But, yesterday—”

He cut me off by tilting my head back and kissing my lips. As he pulled back, he arched a brow. “Yesterday, I believe we decided that I am an idiot.”

I smiled and buried my head in his chest again. “Can we go home now?”

He made a sound of agreement and stood from the bed with me in his arms. “Elijah, can you drive?”

“Of course.”

“I’m pretty sure I can walk now, Nik.” I pushed against his chest trying to get him to put me down. I spent way too much time being carried when I was around him.

“I’m sure you can, but I have no intentions of letting you.”

I growled in frustration only earning a chuckle of amusement from him.

Elijah opened the back door for us and Nik slid in, never once moving me from his arms. The older Original went around the vehicle and climbed in behind the wheel. I spent the entire drive home wrapped in Nik’s arms.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

I SENT DAMON A text saying I was okay but it was the next day before he called. “Salvatore,” I said by way of greeting.  

“Grimes.” There was a pause then he sighed. “Look, can you come over? There are some things we need to discuss.”

I was sitting sideways on Nik’s lap in the living room, reading a book. Overhearing the question, Nik frowned and shook his head, not ready to let me out of his sight just yet. I patted a hand against his chest. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Cassie,” Nik growled when I hung up the phone.

“As much as I love this, I can’t spend the rest of my life sitting in your lap.”

“I fail to see the problem.”

I laughed and pushed myself to my feet. “I’ve got an idea. Give me a minute.” I headed out to the little greenhouse Nik had installed in the back to gather some things. When I came back I put a bowl, a chalice, my knife and a dusty bottle of wine on the table. I dumped the herbs I’d placed in the bowl onto the table.

Popping the cork on the bottle of wine, I poured a generous helping into the bowl. “Elijah, you want in on this?” I asked loudly. The Original soon appeared in the doorway.

“What exactly _is_ this?” His voice was precise as always.

“It’s a linking spell. I can link all three of us together or just me to each of you. It will let us know if the other is in danger. If we concentrate we can locate each other. Magical GPS, but better.”

Elijah took a seat on the arm of one of the chairs. “I have no problem being linked to Niklaus.”

I glanced at Nik to find him staring at me intently. “You are doing this for me.”

I smiled. “Of course.”

He studied me a moment longer without saying anything. “You can link me to Elijah as well.”

My smile widened. “Very well. I need three drops of blood from each of you. In the bowl, please.” They did as I asked. I pricked the end of my finger and added my own blood to the mix. I said a few words and the surface of the liquid bubbled and flames appeared. Still reciting the spell, I crumbled the herbs into the flames. The fire shot up as the herbs were consumed then died back down.

I blew across the surface and the fire disappeared. I poured the concoction into the chalice. “Cheers.” I brought the cup to my lips. I downed a third of it, grimacing at the bitter taste then passed the cup to Nik. When he was done, he passed it to Elijah who drained the glass.

“That’s it?” Nik asked and I nodded.

“There is one thing I want to try, though.” I knelt in front of Nik. _Can you hear me_? I thought at him.

His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. _Well, this will certainly be interesting in bed._ I slapped his leg playfully and he chuckled.

I turned to Elijah. _What about you? Can you hear me?_

A furrow appeared between Elijah’s brows. “This is unexpected.”

“Don’t freak out. We can’t invade each other’s heads. We can only send thoughts.”

An image appeared in my brain of me and Nik wrapped in satin sheets. I locked eyes with him. “You behave or I’ll take it away.”

He pouted and huffed in annoyance. “Fine.”

Elijah chuckled.

“Now, I need to go to the boarding house, apparently. I’ll be back shortly.”

***

WHEN I ARRIVED AT the Salvatores, I opened the door as I knocked on it. I was expected after all. “Hello?” I called as I walked into the living room.

Elena was on the couch while Stefan and Damon hovered near by. The female vampire that kidnapped us was there as well. Rose, Elijah had called her. I locked eyes with Damon. “What is this?”

“She has information. We need to hear her out.”

I doubted this vampire could tell me anything I didn’t already know, but I sat anyway. I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my brows to let Damon know I was listening but I wasn’t happy about it.

“Okay, I can only tell you what I’ve heard through the years. I don’t know what is rumor and what is real. I do know that Klaus is real,” Rose started. I rolled my eyes. Yes, this would be tremendously informative.

“Who’s Klaus?” Elena asked.

“He’s an Original,” Damon said.

“One of the first vampires,” Stefan added.

“Like Elijah?” That came from Elena.

“No,” snapped the vampire called Rose. “Elijah was the Easter Bunny compared to Klaus.”

I snorted a laugh and the three vampires looked at me in irritation. “Elijah is _not_ the Easter Bunny,” was all I said, then gestured for them to go on. I sent a text to Elijah to let him know they were comparing him to an egg delivering bunny rabbit though I doubted he’d find it as humorous as I did

“Klaus is the real deal,” Rose said to Elena.

“He’s known to be the oldest,” Stefan added.

I shook my head. “Elijah is older.” So was their brother Finn but they didn’t need to know all the family secrets. They all stared at me again and I shrugged.

“So, the oldest vampire in the world is coming after me?” Elena asked.

“Yes,” Rose answered at the same time Stefan and I said, “No.”

Damon chimed in with, “A solid maybe.”

Stefan moved over to sit by Elena. “Look, Elijah is dead and we don’t even know if Klaus is real. I don’t know anyone who has actually seen him.”

“He’s real and he’s dangerous,” Rose chimed in.

“I hate to agree with her, but he is real. I’ve seen him. Lots of times,” I said. “Oh, and Elijah is not dead.” When the vampires all frowned at me again, I snapped. “You’re the ones that invited me over here to talk to our kidnapper. You said it was a discussion. It’s not a discussion if we all just sit here and let the bad vampire feed us paranoid lies.”

Elena looked completely overwhelmed. She stood and headed toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Stefan asked.

“School,” she answered. “I’m late.”

“I’ll get my stuff and go with you,” he offered.

“No. I got it.” With that, the girl left.

Once she was gone, three sets of annoyed vampire eyes turned back to me.

“Look, Grimes. I get this is your area of expertise, but you can’t honestly think you know more than us on this topic. Or expect us to believe you know more about the Originals. We’ve all been around much longer than you. There’s no one here for you to impress.” Damon walked over to pour himself a drink.

So now I not only didn’t know what I was talking about, I was making stuff up? Good to know. “It’s true that you’re an old man.” I got up to join him at the bar. “However, I assure you when it comes to the Originals, no one in this room knows more than me.”

“Katherine said something to me as I was shutting her in the tomb,” he fessed up between sips.

“Oh, please enlighten me as to what she had to say. I’m sure it was super relevant and important. I can barely contain my excitement.”

“She said Elena was in danger from my witch.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I can only assume she meant you.”

I took a swallow of my drink. “She said that because I threatened her with the Originals. Elena is in no danger from me. Nor is she in any from them.”

Rose snorted. “Yeah, they only want to sacrifice her.”

“Not true.” I pointed a finger at her with the hand holding my glass. “They need her blood but they do not need to kill her.” I drained my drink and sat the glass down. “Look, Elijah is alive. Elena is in no danger, at least not from myself or the Originals. The curse isn’t what you think it is. You believe the kidnapper and psycho bitch if you want. I’m not going to beg you to believe me. When you want to talk, you know how to find me.” With that, I turned and left the house, ignoring Damon calling after me. I wasn’t going to prove myself to them, I didn’t have to. And I wasn’t going to spill any more secrets in front of the vampire that helped kidnap me.

When I arrived back at the mansion, I told the brothers what happened. Elijah pursed his lips then left, saying he had an errand to see to. As soon as his brother left, Nik took me to our room to experiment with our new telepathy.

***

THE NEXT DAY, I laid on the couch reading with my legs across Nik’s lap. My phone buzzed and I picked it up to see Damon calling. “Salvatore.”

“Your cousin is trying to get herself killed,” he snapped.

I swung my feet to the floor and sat up. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s in Richmond preparing to turn herself over to Klaus.”

I glanced at Nik. He checked his phone and shook his head. No one had contacted him about it yet, though he wasn’t exactly the easiest person to get ahold of. “Text me the address,” I told Damon and hung up.

“Elijah,” I called as I slipped on my shoes.

He stepped into the doorway. “Yes?”

“Elena has contacted someone trying to turn herself over to Nik. We need to go play rescue mission.”

He sighed. “Where is she?”

I rattled off the address. His lips pursed. “I know precisely where she is. Come.”

I gave Nik a kiss on the cheek and followed his brother.

When we stepped outside, Elijah turned to me. “We’re going to have to run to get there in time.” I nodded and let him pick me up. Wrapping my arms around his neck I buried my face in his chest to keep from getting vertigo as he flashed us to where we needed to be to rescue my cousin.

We arrived in the hallway of an industrial apartment building just in time to see three vampires break open one of the doors. Elijah flashed over, taking out the vampire in the rear. I took my time walking over, figuring Elijah didn’t really need my help. A vampire ran out of the apartment and came to a stop in front of me. Unsurprisingly it was Rose. Coward.

I moved to the side and let her pass. I stepped over the body in the doorway just in time to hear Damon say, “I killed you. You were dead.”

“For centuries now,” Elijah responded as he looked at the two vampires I didn’t know. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Who are _you_?” one of them echoed.

“That’s Elijah,” I answered for him. Damon’s eyes darted to me when I spoke. I shrugged.

When Elijah nodded once to confirm my proclamation the vampire scrambled to explain. “We were going to bring her to you. For Klaus.”

“That’s funny because we haven’t received word of anyone wanting to meet,” I said.

“This conversation doesn’t concern you, little girl,” the vampire snapped at me in annoyance and Elijah’s shoulders went tight.

“Does anyone else know you are here?” Elijah asked.

“No,” the vampire insisted. “We didn’t tell anyone. I swear.”

“Well. Then you have been incredibly helpful.” With one quick motion, he ripped the hearts of both vampires from their chests and dropped them on the ground.

He turned to me and grasped my chin in his hand, leaving blood there. I wanted to wipe it away but knew Elijah was making a statement. Marking me, so to speak. He turned back to look at the speechless Damon and Elena. “You really should listen to the witch. She knows more than you can imagine.” _I’ll wait for you downstairs,_ he added in my head, then dashed away.

“I hate to say I told you so…” I let my statement trail off.

Damon was in front of me in a split second and pressed me against the wall with an arm across my chest. “What the hell, Cassidy?”

I resisted the urge to set him on his ass. “I told you he was alive, Damon. I told you that he didn’t want to hurt her. You guys just didn’t want to hear it.”

His blue eyes searched my face looking for any signs of treachery. “Everything, and I mean everything, we know about the Originals say they aren’t to be trusted. That they should be feared. What’s the real story here?”

“God, you’re stubborn. Right now, he’s pissed. You tried to kill him. Elena is trying to get herself killed. Or worse, depending on whose hands she ends up in. He came here because I asked him to. He saved her. That should be enough for you.”

“Well, it’s not.”

“Let’s just go, Damon,” Elena said, tugging on his arm. “I’m sorry, Cassidy.” She didn’t look at me as she spoke.

Damon pressed against me again before straightening and letting me go. I rubbed a hand along my collarbones which ached from the pressure he put on them. He took Elena’s elbow to lead her from the apartment.

“You know how to find me when you’re ready to listen,” I called after them. I closed the doors on the apartment as I left knowing Elijah would send someone to clean up then went to find the Original so he could take me home.

***

ELENA CALLED THE NEXT day. I answered surprised to be hearing from her instead of one of the Salvatores.

“Hello, Elena.”

“I need your help.” She spoke low and quickly as if she didn’t want to be overheard.

I was instantly on alert. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t get out of the house.”

“Say that again.”

Elena sighed. “Damon had Bonnie cast a spell on the house so I couldn’t leave.”

“I see. Give me a minute.” I hung up and immediately called Damon.

“Grimes,” he answered.

“I thought you might not answer.”

“I almost didn’t. What’s up?”

“You left Elena the use of her phone. She called for a rescue. Won’t be long before she figures out how to get in trouble with that.”

“Shit.” He sighed. “Thanks for the call. You aren’t pissed at me for locking her up?”

“It’s not like she’s in your dungeon.”

“It’s a basement, Grimes.”

“It’s all a matter of perspective, Salvatore. Tell Elena I said hi.”

“What is your cousin up to today?” Elijah said as he came into the room obviously only catching the end of the conversation.

“The Salvatores have apparently put her under house arrest with the help of their witch. She called me for a rescue, which I’m not going to give.”

He perched on the arm of a chair. “Why is that stupid girl so eager to die?”

“Apparently they feel the information they get from Katherine and Rose is more reliable than mine and since Nik did kill Katherine’s whole family and you took Trevor’s head off…”

Elijah cleared his throat and straightened his jacket. “Yes, well.”

***

MY PHONE BUZZED AGAIN late that afternoon and I looked down to see a text from Ric.

_Drinks. Grill. Now._

That wasn’t much of an invitation. Obviously something was going on. I sighed and got to my feet as I contemplated destroying my phone so I wasn’t as easy to get ahold of. This was ridiculous. “This little town has entirely too much drama.”

I found Nik in his study. “Hello, sweetheart,” he said with a smile as I stepped inside. He had a pallet in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. I walked over and gave him a kiss.

“I have been summoned for drinks with my uncle. I’ll be back later.”

“Be careful. And call if you need a ride home.”

“Yes, sir, oh great and mighty hybrid.” I walked back toward the door.

“Don’t be cheeky,” he told me which had me laughing all the way to the car.

 When I arrived at the Grill I found Ric and Damon staring at a woman at the bar that I had never seen before. I arched my brows and watched with amusement as a relatively sober Ric pretended to be drunk as he slid onto the stool next to her. Damon looked on with interest. What were these two morons up to?

I shook my head and made my way to Ric’s side, cutting off Damon as he headed in the same direction. “What are you doing?” he said next to my ear.

“Trying to keep you two out of trouble. Though I have no idea what you’re up to,” I said under my breath. I smiled brightly as I swept in next to Ric and looped my arm in his. “I’m horribly sorry,” I said to the stranger. “Has he been bothering you?”

The woman smiled back. “No. Not really.”

“I was supposed to meet him here an hour ago. I hate it when he gets started without me. Why don’t you go get us a table,” I said to Ric then turned and held out my hand. “Cassidy.”

The woman took my hand and shook it. “Jules.”

“Welcome to Mystic Falls, Jules.” Ah, werewolf. That must have been what they were wanting to know. I looked over the woman’s shoulder to Damon who glared at me from the barstool on the other side. “Damon, I thought you’d be at the table with Ric by now. Why don’t we leave this lady alone and head over there?”

“Oh, I’ll be over in a minute, Cass. You run along now.”

“Don’t be a dick, Damon. Let’s go.” He was going to get himself in so much trouble. Arrogant ass.

He flashed me a tight smile. “Don’t be a bitch, Cassidy.”

I held up my hands in surrender and stepped away. “Jules, nice meeting you.”

I wandered over to Ric and took the seat next to him. “You all could have just waited until I got here if you wanted confirmation she’s a wolf. He’s going to get his ass killed.” Ric sighed and started to get up to go help his friend. I put a hand on his arm to stop him. “He’s the one doing this. Let him deal with the consequences.”

We watched as Jules left and Damon looked at us before following. We rushed to meet up with him outside. “Where the hell is she?” Damon asked as we hit the sidewalk behind him.

“Just let her go,” Ric argued.

“I can’t just let her go. She told me I’ve been marked. What the hell does that even mean?”

“It means that you are an arrogant ass that pissed off a werewolf on the night of the full moon,” I answered and Damon glared at me.

“She’s right, Damon. Just go home. If it’s true their bite can kill you, just go home, lock your doors and we’ll deal with this in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay,” he agreed after a moment.

“Where the hell is Stefan?” I asked. “He usually keeps you somewhat in line.”

Damon narrowed his eyes and gave me an angry smile.

“He’s locked in the tomb with Katherine,” Ric answered.

I spun to look at my uncle. “What?”

“Jeremy did something stupid and Stef had to rescue him. He got caught. We’re trying to figure out how to get him out,” Damon supplied.

I screamed through clenched teeth in frustration. “Okay, I know you have my phone number. Start using it. Go home, Damon. I’ll take care of Stefan.” I stomped down the middle of the street without even looking back at them. Idiots.

I pulled out my phone and called Elijah. “I need you to meet me at the tomb. Bring the bag with my grimoires.” I hung up without waiting for a response.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

ELIJAH WAS WAITING FOR me at the side of the road where the easiest access to the tomb was. He smiled when I stepped from the car. “I wasn’t about to leave you to traipse through the forest on the night of a full moon by yourself.”

“I appreciate that. Damon pissed at least one wolf off, so that will distract her at least. I would have waited until tomorrow to do this, but the moon will help.” Witches could draw power from the moon to help with spells, with the full moon obviously being the most powerful.

Elijah’s eyes lit with curiosity but he didn’t ask any questions. I’d tell him everything later. He handed me the bag with my books then held out his arms. “Come.” I stepped into his embrace and closed my eyes while he whisked us to the tomb.   

I used magic to light a torch when we arrived and flipped through the grimoire until I found the spell I was searching for. Dropping the containment spell on the tomb was easy enough. Trying to maintain it or to let some pass through but not others would be exceedingly difficult. Bonnie and her grandmother had tried to do exactly that when the tomb was first opened and it ended up costing her grandmother her life.

I dug my knife out of the bag and walked over to the stone that covered the opening of the tomb. “Stefan is trapped inside with Katherine. I need you to make sure she stays when I drop the containment.”

“My pleasure,” Elijah said.

I sliced my palm and laid it against the stone as I recited the spell from the grimoire. The containment magic fell and I stepped away. “It’s all yours.”

I sat on the steps leading up out of the ground and wrapped my hand with some rags I kept in my bag for just that purpose. Elijah slid the stone out of the way and stood in the opening waiting for the vampires to appear.

“Elijah,” Katherine said from inside the tomb. She sounded terrified. I smiled.

“Katerina,” Elijah answered. “Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened. Stefan you may come.”

“I can’t.”

“The spell has been lifted. You may exit,” Elijah assured him.

Shortly, Stefan stepped out into the moonlight. Elijah disappeared into the tomb to compel Katherine. I used magic to douse the torch I had lit drawing Stefan’s attention. His brow furrowed and he walked up the bottom steps until he was standing right in front of me. “Cassidy?”

I gave him a small smile. “Hello, Stefan.”

“You did this.”

I nodded and he looked over his shoulder to Elijah who was stepping out of the tomb. “And you know him.”

“You’re taking this much better than your brother.”

“Yeah, well, Damon is Damon. Thank you, Cassidy.”

“You’re welcome, Stefan. If you can get everyone else to listen, there are things to discuss. Call me.”

“Of course,” he said after a moment and walked past me up the stairs.

“Give Elena my love,” I said before he disappeared into the night.

***

“I GOT A TEXT from Damon,” I said as I sat at the table for breakfast the next morning. “Rose was bitten by a werewolf last night.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Elijah said before returning to his coffee.

Nik leaned back in his chair. “I have to say, I’m not inclined to be of any assistance.” Nik’s blood could cure the otherwise fatal bite of a werewolf. That information was not widely known. In fact, I wasn’t certain anyone but the three of us knew and I wasn’t inclined to share.

“She kidnapped me, let her buddy munch on me, and runs every time there is even a hint of trouble. I’m not about to plea her case,” I told him and took a bite of my eggs. Perhaps my time with the Originals had made me more bloodthirsty, or less forgiving, but I didn’t have it in me to feel sorry for the vampire.

“I’m going to some booster thing at the high school tonight,” I told them. “I promised Ric.”

“I have plans this evening,” Elijah said without looking at me.

I laughed. “Okay, first of all, I didn’t ask either of you to go with me. Second, it’s the boyfriend that’s supposed to make the excuses isn’t it?”

“She has a point, Niklaus.”

“Why make excuses? She knew I wasn’t going to go.”

***

NIGHT HAD FALLEN BY the time I pulled up to the high school. Someone called my name as I stepped out of my car. Damon and Elena strode across the parking lot in my direction. “What’s going on?”

“Rose got loose. She’s leaving kills in the open.” Werewolf bites drove the vampire in question insane with pain and hallucinations well before the poison finally did them in.

Seriously? I’d just come for an overcooked burger and a sip from Ric’s flask behind the school. “This is insane. I’ll go this way, you two go over there.”

It didn’t take long to locate Rose. Or rather, Rose found me. A heavy weight landed on my back with a growl. Before I had time to react, the vampire’s teeth tore into the tender flesh of my neck. Hot pain flared through me and I flung her away with my magic. _I got this,_ I thought at the Originals, though I didn’t know if they could even hear me over that distance.

Rose immediately sprang back to her feet and charged toward me with a growl. She snarled and spit like a feral animal. I flung out a hand and stopped the vampire. Rose pressed against the magical barrier, struggling to get to me and she was making headway. The pain in my neck distracted me and I was still losing blood. Both made me weak.

Suddenly, Damon tackled the rabid vampire to the ground. I released my magic and stumbled over, my hand pressed against the wound. Damon looked up at me. “You okay?”

“Been better.”

The vampire faded from Rose’s face and she looked around in confusion until her eyes landed on me. “Was that me?”

“It’s okay, Rose. It’ll be okay,” Damon told her. The vampire beneath him started to cry. He sighed and his head dropped forward. I didn’t care about Rose, but I did care about Damon.

I put a hand on my friend’s shoulder. “Let me help.”

He looked at me before nodding and moving back. I knelt beside the vampire and took my hand from the wound on my neck. After rubbing my blood onto both palms I placed them on the sides of Rose’s head. I flipped through her memories which was easier than I’d feared it would be. Rose was too far gone for her brain to have any protections up.

The blood flowed more freely from my wound as the magic pulled the blood price from me. I ignored it and kept digging, looking for a happy memory to loop the vampire into. At least her final moments could be spent in peace. Five hundred years was a lot to shift through.

Suddenly, the memories faded and I gasped at the sudden disconnect. My eyes flew open to see a stake protruding from Rose’s chest. The rest of the world came back into focus and I heard Damon and Elijah fighting. “She was going to die anyway. I’ve merely spared her the suffering.”

“We had it under control,” Damon argued, his eyes flashing in anger.

“Did you?” Elijah asked before biting into his wrist and squatting in front of me. I grasped his wrist and took the offered blood, not even thinking about arguing. He brushed the hair from my face. When I finished, he lifted me into his arms and turned back to Damon. “Cassidy is loyal to a fault, Salvatore. She was dying to spare you the girl’s suffering.”

“She wasn’t dying.” Damon glanced from the Original to me when I didn’t say anything. “Were you?”

I looked away. I hadn’t intended to let it go that far, but once I was swept into the memory spell, it was hard to get out until I’d done what I meant to. Given the moisture soaking my shirt, I had been bleeding far more than I realized.

Damon raked a hand through his hair. “Damn it, Grimes.”

“I was just trying to help.” 

Elijah looked down at me with an arched brow. “You were bleeding out.”

“Oh.”

Amusement flickered in Elijah’s eyes which I much preferred over the anger that had been there only moments before.

“Take her home,” Damon said as voices approached. “I’ve got this.”

***

I SNUCK OUT OF the house the next afternoon while Nik was in the shower. It was the first time he let me leave his sight since Elijah brought me home the night before. My car was still at the school, so I took Nik’s and went to the Grill to meet Jenna and Ric for lunch.

“Did you know?” Jenna asked as I slid into a seat at the table.

I looked at Ric for an explanation.

“John is Elena’s dad,” Ric said. “Jenna’s having a hard time processing.”

Isobel and John being Elena’s parents had to be a lot for Jenna to swallow. “If it makes you feel any better, I knew Isobel was Elena’s mom for years and never told Ric.”

Ric choked on the drink he was attempting to swallow and frowned at me.

“That actually does make me feel a little better. Thanks,” Jenna said and gave Ric a cheeky grin.  Jenna suddenly flopped back in her chair and her smile dropped. “Great. Look who’s here.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see John walking into the Grill. He headed straight for our table. “Jenna, Ric.” He paused and smiled at me. “Cassidy. Long time no see.”

I could tell John was going to ask to join them and that was going to be a very bad idea. “How about we grab that table over there?” I said to him. “Catch up?”

“Sounds good.”

Jenna grabbed my hand as soon as he was out of earshot and leaned toward me. “Oh my God, thank you.”

“No problem. Ric, I’ll talk to you later, yes?”

“Yeah, Cass, later.”

It seemed all I’d been doing was putting off conversations I needed to have with the people I loved. I was spending too much time getting involved in their supernatural drama. Sometimes I felt like I was in the middle of a soap opera. I moved over to the booth John had procured and slid onto the seat across from him. “How have you been?” I asked. The waitress placed a bottle of beer in front of me and I gave her a grateful smile. At least John ordered me a drink.

“I’ve been okay.” He waited for the girl to walk away. “What’s this I hear about you and Elijah?”

I sipped my beer. “Well, you get straight to the point, don’t you?” I wondered briefly where he got his information. Last I knew, Elena and the Salvatores weren’t exactly on speaking terms with him.

“To say I was disappointed was an understatement. Are you in a relationship with him?”

“If that is your polite way of asking if I’m screwing Elijah, the answer is no. We’re just friends.”

John shook his head. “I thought I taught you better than that. I know Isobel did.”

“You mean my aunt who’s a vampire taught me to stay away from the vampires? Is that what you’re trying to say to me right now, John? Because you have to know how stupid that sounds.”

“Isobel made her choices. That doesn’t mean she’d want this for you.” He laid his hand on top of mine on the table.

I turned my hand and held his for a minute. As big of an asshole as he could be, we were only having this conversation because he cared. I looked at our hands without saying anything. Part of me wished I could go back to before the accident. That none of this had ever happened. That I had a different life, but it wasn’t going to happen.

“Do you need help getting out? Is that the problem?” he asked me quietly and I jerked my head up to look at him. I gave him a small smile.

“My life has never been normal, John. It’s always been full of things that go bump in the night. But I learned a long time ago to judge people on how they treat me, not their pasts. Elijah has been there for me time and again without wanting anything in return. We help each other. Take care of each other. Isobel tried to kill me and almost succeeded. I really don’t give a shit if she’d be disappointed with me for hanging out with him or not.”

He sighed and leaned back in his seat, pulling his hand from mine. “You know about the curse. What they’ll do to Elena.”

I took a drink of my beer and shook my head. “I found a way to save Elena, John.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “What?” I hadn’t mentioned it before because I knew he’d have questions that I didn’t really want to answer. I also wasn’t entirely sure he still didn’t talk to Isobel.

“As I have told Elena and the Salvatores many times now, Elena does not have to die in the sacrifice. Isn’t that right, Damon?” I asked as the vampire in question stepped up to our table.

“That’s what you keep telling me.” He slid into the seat next to me and bumped me with his hip to get me to move over.

“Damon. Nice to see you again,” John said.

Damon held up a finger. “I’ll be right with you.” He turned his attention back to me. “How are you?” His blue eyes searched mine.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m fine.” We were both lying. Him more than me.

“Did something happen?” John asked interrupting us.

“Cassidy got herself injured helping a friend of mine yesterday. I just wanted to make sure she healed up okay. Stefan seems to believe that you’re here to help, John. He says you have information about the sacrifice and the Originals.”

I snorted beside him and Damon smirked.

“That’s right, but I don’t see why I should tell you anything.”

“And I don’t see why I shouldn’t kill you so there’s that.” He draped a heavy arm across my shoulders. Maybe John being here wasn’t such a bad thing. At least it made me the lesser of two evils as far as Damon was concerned. “It seems to me, we’ve got the only expert we need so why don’t you run on back to wherever you crawled from.”

“You’re going to believe her? She’s compromised.”

“John, you are such an asshole.” Damon squeezed my shoulders in support.

“If you are talking about her knowing Elijah, she’s been very open about that. Not that we always believed her, but she’s been very open.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’d be surprised if she’s told you everything, Damon. Prove you’re worth trusting and I’ll make sure you know the rest.” With that he stood up and walked away.

“And he wonders why no one likes him,” I said after a moment to break the tension.

I let Damon buy me a real drink while we bitched to each other about John and speculated on what he was actually doing back in town. Elena had joined us by the time she received a call from Stefan that Caroline was in danger. The three of us slipped into one of the bathrooms to discuss it.

“Stefan went over to talk to Tyler to make sure he wasn’t going to tell anyone about you guys being vampires. While he was there, they got a call. Jules took Caroline and wants to trade him for Tyler.”

“Tyler knows about us? Why am I just now hearing about this?”

“Calm down, Salvatore,” I said. “He’s a werewolf. It’s not like he’s going to tell everyone about you when he’s just as likely to get killed.” Tyler had accidently killed a classmate at a party so he was now a full werewolf. Like I said, drama.

“I don’t trust him.”

“You don’t trust anyone,” I said and he glared at me.  

“It doesn’t matter right now, Damon. We need to get Caroline back,” Elena tried to reason with him.

John stuck his head in the door. “What’s going on?”

“Not now, John,” Damon groaned.

“Damon, let’s just go,” I said. We were wasting time.

He turned to John. “Your first dad job? Ground your daughter.” We pushed past him and he kept Elena from following. Damon grasped my hand to pull me through the Grill and let go once we were outside. Stefan and Tyler pulled up in my car just as the door closed behind us.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Stefan said as we climbed into the back seat. “We needed the room.”

“Did you hotwire my car?” I asked in disbelief.

“No. You left a key at our place.”

Honestly that didn’t surprise me given the number of times I left the car somewhere. He pulled out and I sent a text to Nik asking him to have any witch but Greta track the locator on the car and meet up with me.

When we pulled off the side of the road, we all climbed out. “You three go on. I’m waiting on our backup.”

My first indication the witch had arrived was when I realized I couldn’t move. Jonas stepped into my line of sight. He was one of Elijah’s witches. And Greta’s father. “I was instructed to make sure you stay out of danger. You can fight me if you want, but it will just distract me from helping your friends.”

He moved off into the trees and I stayed frozen beside the car cursing the Originals in my head, hoping they heard every word. It went against my nature not to fight the spell holding me, but I wanted Jonas focused on helping them free Caroline.

It felt like an eternity before the Salvatores emerged from the trees, Caroline walking between them. The blonde ran over and wrapped me in a hug which I was not able to return.

“I’ve got to hand it to you, Grimes,” Damon said. “You call good backup.”

Caroline moved away with a frown. “Why are you just standing there?”

I was annoyed to find I also couldn’t move my vocal cords. _Tell Jonas to let me go before I hurt him. Danger’s over._ Laughter rolled through my head that I was fairly certain belonged to Nik. _Bastard._

“Cassidy?” Damon frowned as he came to a stop in front of me. “What’s wrong?”

Finally the magic flowed away from me, allowing me to move again. I gave Damon a tight smile. “Sorry. Apparently it was decided I was not to endanger myself and Jonas put a spell on me to lock me in place.” Damon chuckled and I punched him in the arm before looking over to Caroline and opening my arms. The blonde flung herself at me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Easy. I’m not a vampire,” I reminded her.

“Oh, sorry.” She loosened her hold a little. I kept my arm around her and steered her into the back seat.

“You okay?”

Caroline shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “I thought he was my friend.”

“What?” Damon said turning around in his seat to look at us.

“Tyler. I really thought he wasn’t going to help me. He just stood there. I had to beg him to let me out of the cage.” She buried her head in my shoulder.

Damon’s mouth drew into a flat line. “I knew I should have killed him.”

“Damon,” Stefan and I said in unison and Caroline gasped.

The vampire in question rolled his eyes and turned back around in his seat.


	16. Chapter 16

ONCE EVERYONE HAD BEEN dropped off, I headed home. When I arrived, I threw my keys on the entry hall table. “I assume everything went well?” Elijah asked.

“I have no idea how it went as I wasn’t allowed to be involved. We got Caroline home if that’s what you mean.”

Amusement danced in Elijah’s eyes. “He’s in the study.”

“Really, Nik?” I asked as I stepped into the room with him.

“Have a good time, sweetheart?” He swung his feet off the desk where he’d had them propped up. There was laughter in his voice.

I put my hands on my hips. “It’s not funny, Nik.”

“No. I know that,” he said while still laughing.

“Then quit laughing, hybrid.”

He tried to pull a sober face and failed horribly. I marched across the room and he pushed his chair back from the desk and held up his hands. “Now hold on, Cassie.”

I didn’t stop until I positioned myself in his lap, my legs to either side so I straddled him. His arms reflexively went around me to steady me. “Woah. Hello.” His voice dropped and took on a rougher tone.

“Knew I could make you stop laughing.” I smirked then pressed my lips to his. He deepened it, pulling me more tightly against him. I didn’t move away until I was forced to breathe. I nestled my head into the hybrid’s shoulder and let him hold me. One hand made circles on my back while the other was tangled in my hair, holding my head against him.

“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”

It was for caring enough to want me protected. For not using me for my magic. For risking my wrath to keep me safe. For sending help when I asked even though he cared nothing for any of the people involved. “I love you,” I told him instead of trying to explain everything that entailed.

His breath caught and he stilled beneath me. He knew I loved him, but this was the first time I’d said the words. He pulled my head back to look in my eyes. His lips pressed against mine with a hungry need which I returned. Our tongues danced together and his fingers pressed into my hips as I rocked against him. He pressed hot lips into my neck where it met my shoulder and he groaned against the skin. “Do it,” I breathed and he went utterly still beneath me, as if I’d change my mind if he moved. I nipped at the skin at his neck, pinching it between my teeth. “Do it, hybrid.”

There was a brief moment of pain when his teeth pierced my neck that quickly faded to pleasure. I felt each pull of blood all the way to my core. When he pulled back, his face was still vamped out, and my blood decorated his chin, but it didn’t frighten me. He bit into his wrist and held it out for me. I latched on and drank deeply, feeling my neck heal almost instantly. He wrapped thick fingers in my hair and pulled me away from his wrist.

He claimed my lips again and I could taste myself in his mouth. A deep groan like nothing I’d ever heard from him before seemed to rise from the depths of his chest. “You make me crazy,” he murmured against my lips. He stood, using his hands to support me so I could keep my legs wrapped around his waist. He let go with one hand only long enough to sweep everything from his desk onto the floor before laying me on the surface.

***

THE NEXT MORNING, WE stayed late in bed. I draped across Nik’s chest while he played with my hair, occasionally pausing to press a kiss to the top of my head. We were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Nik made sure the sheet covered me. “Come in, Elijah.”

“Cassie, I need a date,” the elegant Original said as he strode into the room.

I smiled at him. “Well, hello to you, too, Elijah.”

“I am sorry. Where are my manners? Good morning, Cassie. Niklaus. I trust you slept well or didn’t sleep as the case may be.” Elijah may be the elegant brother, but he was a smart ass.

Nik laughed. “I’m pretty sure he can dispense with formality when the woman he’s asking on a date is in bed with his brother.”

“I guess you have a point.” I sat up and scooted back to rest on the headboard. I kept one hand pressed to my chest to make sure the sheet didn’t slip. “What do you need a date for, Elijah?”

“Well, a date is not actually required, but I would like you to accompany me to the historical society luncheon.”

“Of course. When are we leaving?”

“About an hour.”

“I’ll be ready.”

I dressed in a dress with three-quarter length sleeves. It flared at the waist and had giant red poppies splashed over the white background. I pinned my hair back. “You look wonderful, Cassie,” Elijah said as I came down the stairs. The kiss Nik gave me before I left our room told me he approved as well.

Once again the event was at the Lockwood Mansion. The place was beautiful but didn’t they tire of having every event in town there? And there were a lot of events. Once we made our way inside, we bypassed the tea and made our way over to the mayor. Carol Lockwood had taken over her husband’s previous position. I wasn’t really sure that was how it supposed to work, but what did I care? I’d always liked her better than her husband anyway.

She smiled at both of us. “Mr. Smith. So glad you could make it.”

“Elijah, please. Thank you for the invitation.”

Carol turned to me and her smile widened. “And Cassidy Grimes. I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been?”

I gave the woman a friendly hug. “I’ve been good. I was so sorry to hear about Richard.”

“Thank you.” Carol’s smile turned sad as I leaned back. “How do you and Elijah know each other?”

“Oh, Cassidy and I are old friends. She’s been very helpful in my research,” Elijah said.

“It’s actually very interesting,” I chimed in.

“Damon,” Carol suddenly said with a bright smile. “What a surprise.”

She hugged the vampire and kissed his cheek when he came over. “Elijah Smith, I’d like you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of the founding families. Damon, Elijah is doing some research about our town.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about his research.” They shook hands with narrowed eyes then Damon nodded in my direction. “Cassidy.”

“Damon,” I said with a teasing lilt in my voice. “Are you crashing this upstanding social event?”

“Cassidy,” Carol Lockwood chastised but a smile tugged the corners of her mouth.

Damon straightened his jacket and looked down his nose at me. “I’ll have you know I was invited.” I smirked. Knowing him, he’d compelled himself an invitation just to come here and screw with the Original. Damon turned to Elijah. “I’d love to hear more about your research.”

“Of course.” Elijah’s smile came nowhere near meeting his eyes. He offered me his arm and I looped mine into it. “Mayor.” He gave Carol a nod then followed Damon into the other room where he led us into an office off to the side. He shut the door behind us.

“It’s not really necessary for you to be here, Cass,” Damon said.

“Oh, but it is. You see, Cassidy is integral to these events though all of you fail to see it or acknowledge it. She stays.” Elijah didn’t look at either of us while he spoke, simply running one finger along the back of a leather chair.

I took a seat on the opposite side of the room.

“What can I do for you, Damon?”

“I was hoping we could have a word.”

“Where’s Elena?”

“Her and Stefan are hiding out. Taking a break. We had a bit of werewolf trouble.”

Elijah smiled. “Yes, I heard about that.”

“Well, I would hope so since Cassidy called in the cavalry to save our asses.” Damon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Original “Why are you really here? What do you want?”

“I don’t follow,” Elijah said.

“Cassidy says Elena doesn’t have to die in the sacrifice yet you seem very invested in making sure she’s safe. You say Cassidy is integral to all this but you seem to let her wander into danger at any given moment. I don’t get it.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Cassie is rather stubborn and independent. Any attempt to control her would not be tolerated.” Damn right it wouldn’t. Nik having a witch keep me safe was one thing, house arrest was quite another. “All you need to worry about is keeping the doppelganger safe. Leave the rest to us.” He motioned for me to come with a flick of his hand and turned toward the door.

Damon flashed in front of him. “Not good enough.”

I stayed in my seat out of the way knowing this wasn’t going to end well. Elijah grabbed Damon by the throat and pushed him across the room and against the wall. Damon tried to grab Elijah’s throat as well but the Original simply peeled the younger vampires fingers off his neck, probably breaking more than one in the process.

“You are so arrogant. Who are you to challenge me?”

“Cassidy, a little help here?” Damon managed to choke out while trying to tug Elijah’s hand off his throat.

“Cassidy help _you_? You fool. The only reason you live is because she has claimed you as family. You and your amalgamation of friends. She has done nothing _but_ help you. If not for her you would have been dead days ago. Not that any of you seem to care.”

Elijah reached onto the desk behind him and grabbed a pencil. He shoved it into the side of Damon’s neck with one quick motion. He released the hold he had on him and let the vampire drop. Damon grasped the pencil and pulled it from his neck.

Elijah drew a handkerchief from one of his pockets and used it to clean the blood from his hands then held it out to Damon. He snatched it from the Original’s fingers and pressed it against the wound.

“I’m an Original,” Elijah said. “Show a little respect. Despite everything Cassidy has told you, you continue to treat me as the villain in your little lives. I would hate to be a disappointment. From this point forward I’ll behave exactly as you seem to think I should.”

Elijah stopped on his way out the door to look back at me. I gave him a smile as I stood. “I’ll be along in a moment.”

He nodded and left, closing the door behind him. I walked over to Damon and laid my hand on top of the one he had pressed against his neck. “Let me see.”  

He jerked away. “It’s fine.”

“Don’t be an idiot.” I pulled the edge of the handkerchief away from the wound. “It’s closing well.”

“What do you care?”

I stepped back and sighed. “All of you are so used to people being dishonest and mean and selfish that none of you can accept when someone is just trying to help. I’m tired of talking when no one’s listening, Damon.” I turned and left without waiting for a response.

***

I WAS LAYING ON the sofa in Nik’s study that evening when Elijah appeared in the doorway. “Your idiot friend appears to have gotten himself into more werewolf trouble.”

Annoyance flared through me as I sat up. “What now?”

“I had men watching the wolves to make sure they left town. They did not. Two have gone after the doppelganger and the rest have descended on the boarding house presumably to retrieve the moonstone from Damon Salvatore.” Jonas’s son Luka had tricked Bonnie into giving him the moonstone so it was already in the Originals’ possession. The wolves would kill Damon when he couldn’t turn it over. Damn it.

“No offense, love, but your friends are a pain in the ass.”

“Thank you for your contribution, Nik.”

He smirked but stood from his chair. “I shall go observe from the shadows and make sure the doppelganger is not injured. You two go rescue the elder Salvatore. Again.”

I followed the brothers out on our rescue mission.

The werewolves left no one on guard outside of the boarding house. Not that it would have done them any good, but it was still foolish. We walked through the front door and I stayed in the entry way to stop anyone trying to escape. Elijah followed the noise to the living room.

“Looking for this?” He stepped out of my line of sight, holding the moonstone in the air. And he called Damon arrogant. At least Elijah could back it up. “Come take it.”

The next sound I heard was a wet squelching sound followed by a thud. The sound repeated then a blur headed in my direction. With a quick flick of my fingers I put up a wall which stopped the wolf that was trying to escape. Jules, the werewolf from the Grill, found herself dazed and on the ground. Panic flooded her face and she lunged toward me only to hit another wall. I had her boxed in with my magic.

Leaving her there, I moved over to the living room to see Elijah walking around a terrified looking man while Damon sat chained in a chair. “You want to take a shot?” Elijah asked the wolf who couldn’t seem to speak. He glanced at Damon. “Where’s the girl?”

Damon shook his head. “Don’t know.”

“I’ve got her,” I told him and Damon looked at me in surprise.

“I guess we don’t need this one then.” Elijah punched the wolf so hard, he broke his neck. Unlike vampires, that wasn’t something wolves recovered from.

Elijah snapped the chains holding Damon to the chair.

I walked into the room. “Wait a second. They chained you to a chair and tried to torture the location of the moonstone out of you?”

Damon smirked. “I know, right? I told them it was ironic but they didn’t get it.”

“It was ironic because that’s what we did to Mason.” I raised my voice so Jules could hear me. She had bitten Rose only because the woman shoved Damon out of the way. The wolf tried to hurt my family so I really didn’t care if I pissed her off or not.

She screamed in frustration. I could feel her fight against her magical prison but it wouldn’t do any good. I rubbed the gem in my pocket I was using to help focus my magic.

Elijah shook his head at my childishness, but I noticed he didn’t tell me to leave her alone. Damon stripped the rest of the chains off and dropped them on the floor. Ric’s lifeless body lay on the floor. I panicked for a moment before I saw that ugly ring on his finger. Isobel had given it to him, though, oddly enough it had originally belonged to John. It would bring any human that wore it back from the dead if the death was caused by anything supernatural. Werewolves fit nicely in that category. “How long has he been out?”

“A while.” Damon removed the collar the wolves had placed around his neck.

“They ruined your carpet.” There was a large red stain on the floor beneath his chair.

“I know. They could have a least had the decency to put down a tarp. No manners.” Damon stepped over to give me a hug. “I suppose I should thank you again.”

“This is becoming a habit, Salvatore.” I stepped back to smile at him. “I’d offer to help you clean up but I don’t want to.”

“Come, Cassie.” Elijah slipped the moonstone back into his pocket and headed to the front door.

He opened the door for me to step through. I motioned with my fingers and the magical cell followed along behind, the wolf yelling obscenities at us. Elijah rubbed his forehead. “Could you do something about that, please?”

I turned to the wolf and concentrated to wrap my magic around the woman’s vocal cords. Silence descended and Elijah sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

It didn’t take long for us to drive back home. I walked in the door, the invisible box still trailing behind. “Nik, are you here? I have a present for you.”

The hybrid wandered in from the direction of the kitchen, a drink in his hand. “Hello, sweetheart. You didn’t need to bring me anything.”

He stepped over to have a closer look at the prisoner.

“Nik, meet your werewolf, Jules. Jules, this is Nik.”

The wolf just looked between the two of us with anger in her eyes.

“You’re the only one that calls me that, love. You have to introduce me properly if you want the proper reaction.” He grinned at the wolf, evil intentions in his eyes. “You can call me Klaus.”

The wolf paled and slumped against the back of her box. Panic and fear replaced the anger in her eyes.

“Ah. I see you’ve heard of me.” Nik drained the rest of his drink. “Excellent.”


	17. Chapter 17

A FEW DAYS LATER, Elijah tried to get me to go with him to meet Jenna and tour the old properties of the founding families. I respectfully declined the invitation. As much as I loved both Jenna and Elijah, I couldn’t think of a more boring way to spend my day. However, when he texted me later to ask if I wanted to join them for lunch at the Grill I was happy to accept. Lunch I could do.

I beat them there and saw Ric, Damon and some blonde sitting together in one of the booths. Making my way over, I gave them a smile and slid onto the seat beside my favorite uncle. “Greetings.”

“Cassidy,” Ric greeted me with a sad smile.

“Grimes,” Damon said with a smirk. I reached across the table and snatched his glass to take a sip of his bourbon. His lips pursed in annoyance as he took the glass back. He signaled the waitress to bring another drink. Hopefully that one was for me.

“Hi,” the blonde said. “I’m Andie.”

“Oh, where are my manners?” Damon said. “Andie, this is Cassidy Grimes, witch extraordinaire. Cassidy, Andie Starr, reporter.”

I shook Andie’s hand and frowned at Damon. Were we just telling everyone about the supernatural now?

Seeing my look, the vampire smiled. “Don’t worry. She’s been compelled not to share my secrets.” He smiled at Andie then they kissed.

Ric cleared his throat and I glanced at him. “This is weird, right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

The waiter came by to drop off the glass of bourbon Damon had ordered. “I’m just going to assume that’s mine.” I snatched it from the table. Damon smirked but didn’t argue with me.

“Oh, look who’s here,” Damon said suddenly. I glanced over to see Jenna and Elijah had walked in.

“And that is my lunch date,” I announced as they walked over to the table.

“Hey, guys,” Jenna said.

“Hello,” I said with a smile. “Look who I found when I got here.”

“I’ve got to go,” Ric said as he stood. “I’ve got papers to grade.”

“We should have a dinner party,” Andie said suddenly.

Damon looked at her in confusion for a moment then smiled. “That’s a great idea. My place? Tonight? Seven, maybe?”

Ric tried to back out but stopped when Jenna said, “Sounds great.”

“Elijah?” Damon asked.

The Original looked at me but I had no idea what was going on. I shrugged. Elijah pursed his lips. “I would be delighted. As long as Cassidy will be in attendance, of course.”

Annoyance flashed on the vampire’s face then he smiled. “It’s not a party without Cassidy. Of course, she’s coming.”

“Thanks for asking me,” I murmured under my breath knowing both vampires would hear me.

Elijah’s lips twitched as he fought a smile. He extended a hand to me. “Shall we?”

I took another swallow of my liquor. “Thanks for the drink, Damon.” I let Elijah pull me from the booth.

“I apologize Jenna, but I have just recalled a previous engagement,” the Original said. “I’ll see you this evening?”

“No problem,” Jenna said with a wide smile. “I’ll just join Damon and Andie.”

Elijah still had hold of my hand and I gave the table a wave as we walked away. “See you later.”

His movements were clipped, brisk as he led me out to my car. I handed him the key so he could drive. Once we were on the way, he looked at me briefly before glancing back to the road. “They’re up to something.”

“I’d say that’s a given. You did tell him you were going into villain mode after all.”

“I also saved his life hours later.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, but Damon knows you only did that because of me. He still doesn’t trust you.”

“Are you quite certain I can’t just start killing people?” He was only half-joking.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

***

NIK FROWNED AS WE prepared to head out that evening. “You’ve been going out with my girl more than I have, brother.”

I pressed a kiss against his lips, but it didn’t help his attitude much. He had a point. Plus, he’d been spending most of his time in the house. He was probably going stir crazy. I grabbed the front of his shirt and stood on tiptoe to lay my mouth next to his ear. “You don’t seem to mind when we stay home, hybrid.”

He gave a low growl and grabbed my hips in both hands to pull me against him. Burying his head against me, he pressed a hot kiss against my collarbone. I pushed against him to lean back. “Hold that thought. We’ll pick it up when I get home.”

After one last kiss on my forehead, he released me and I stepped away to take Elijah’s offered arm.

When we arrived at the boarding house, I went to open the door without knocking but Elijah put a hand on my wrist to stop me. He rang the bell and waited to be invited in properly. I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything.

Damon swung the door open and frowned at me, obviously wondering why I hadn’t just come in. I just gestured at Elijah. “Come on in.” Damon stepped to the side.

I put my foot on the threshold to do just that and Elijah pulled me back. “Just a moment. I want to make it clear to Mr. Salvatore here that if his intentions are anything less than honorable this evening that he should rethink it.”

“Just trying to start over,” Damon said. “Turn a new leaf so to speak.”

“Good,” Elijah said. “Because as much as I honor Cassidy’s devotion to you, I do not suffer from the same affliction. If you cross me, I will kill you and everyone in this house and there is not a damn thing you can do to stop me.”

Damon’s eyes darted from the Original to me.

“I assure you that not even my favorite witch would be able to stop me from ripping your heart out.” Elijah put his hand on my back to steer me into the house. I followed his direction without saying anything. Quite frankly, I was shocked at his threat but had no doubt he would follow through if necessary. Apparently, they had grown tired of playing games with the kiddies. Elijah wouldn’t have made the threat without clearing it with Nik first.

“Jenna,” Elijah said brightly as the red-head stepped into view. “How lovely to see you again.”

Damon stepped over to stand next to me. “Nice friends you got there, Grimes.”

“You didn’t mind him when he was saving you or Elena’s ass. Repeatedly.” I went over to give Jenna a hug.

John stepped into the room. “Cassidy,” he greeted as he walked by to put a dish on the table.

A cold chill went through me. If John was here, they were definitely up to something. I took Elijah’s arm and leaned against his shoulder. _I think we should go_ , I thought at him.

He looked down at me in surprise. It wasn’t like me to overreact or be abundantly cautious. He patted my hand. _It will be fine, Cassie._

The uneasy feeling that swamped me didn’t let up and I ate silently, only vaguely paying attention to the conversation around me. Elijah kept shooting me inquiring looks and had once even invaded my head to ask if I was all right. I merely nodded and picked at my food. Damon offered to open a bottle of cognac at the end of the meal and everyone stood from the table.

Elijah followed Damon into the other room and I started gathering dishes to help Jenna clear the table. “Oh, I forgot about dessert,” Jenna said as we put plates in the sink.

“I’ll get the guys,” Ric said, overhearing. He hurried off before we could tell him it would be a bit.

I shook my head and smiled at Jenna. “I’ll get started on this. You go tell everyone to be patient.”

There was an apple pie in a glass plate on the counter and I took the plastic wrap off the top. I turned the oven on low so I could put the pie in to warm up. After a couple of minutes, I opened the oven door and grabbed the pie. Pain pierced my chest making me gasp and drop the dessert. I fell to my knees and Jenna screamed my name. I wanted to respond, tried to respond, but the pressure in my chest was too much.

My head hung forward and my hands braced against the tile as I knelt on the floor. Jenna yelled for help as she put one hand on my back and the other on my arm.

“Call 911,” Jenna told someone.

“No,” I managed to choke out. “No ambulance. I’m fine.”

The pressure finally lessened and I sucked in several deep breaths before turning to sit on my butt and rest my back against the cabinet behind me. Jenna was still crouched on the floor in front of me, her eyes filled with worry.

 _You and your damn daggers, Nik,_ I thought at him. The pain I’d felt had been from someone using one of the silver daggers on Elijah. How this motley crew had obtained one I had no idea.

Damon and Ric were the last two to enter the room. Well, that answered the question of who was responsible. Ric had to have been the one that did the actual stabbing. If a vampire used the dagger, they died far more permanently than the Original they were trying to put down. Like I said, they were hard to kill.

“What happened?” Damon asked.

“I don’t know.” Panic still threaded through Jenna’s voice. “She just…dropped. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

“Oh, Ric knows. It’s an old injury. It’s just this _stabbing_ pain that comes out of nowhere sometimes,” I said and shot a glare at the two men responsible. “I’m sorry if I scared you, Jenna.”

She shook her head. “No. It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re all right.”

“Damon, I think I need to lie down for a moment. Do you mind?”

“Of course not.” He helped me stand and kept an arm around me as he led me into the living room to lie on the couch.

“You absolute moron,” I said as soon as we were in the other room. “What were you thinking?” I shoved him away from me.

John and Ric followed behind us and shut the door.

“What were you thinking, Grimes?” Damon spat back. “You’re linked to an Original?”

I ran a hand down my face suddenly feeling very tired. “What do you care?”

“He doesn’t have a lot of friends,” Ric answered. “He’s trying to be better about not killing the ones he has.”

“You linked yourself to him?” John spat out, disgusted. “And you expect me to believe you aren’t sleeping with him?”

Anger, annoyance and frustration flooded through me with his words. I drew myself up to my full height. My lip curled as I glared at the three men. “I have been patient. I’ve tried to be understanding knowing that none of you could possibly understand the things I know or why I do the things I do. Allow me to enlighten you. I am linked to not one but two Originals. It was done for my protection since I keep getting dragged into the numerous insane issues you have in this town.” I turned my glare on John. “And I am not sleeping with Elijah, John. I’m sleeping with his brother. Perhaps you’ve heard of him? Goes by Klaus in most circles?”

I took pleasure in watching his face pale as his eyes grew wide.

Damon laughed and I turned to look at him. “You’re joking, right?”

“Actually I’m not.”

 _I’m going to take their doppelganger and shove her in the darkest corner of Niklaus’s basement,_ Elijah’s voice hissed through my head and I laughed in relief.

“I’ve been studying them for the last seven years and living them for the last several months. You insist on operating on rumor and vague references. For the last time, they have no intention of killing Elena. They have been lenient with you all at my request, but I’m tired of asking and I’m tired of trying to convince all of you that they aren’t as bad as you think. So I’m done. No more words, no more talking. I’m going to let them do it their way. And I’m sorry for that.”

I walked past to the door, not looking at any of them. As it was, I was having a hard time reining in my magic, I was furious for what they’d done to Elijah. I stopped before I stepped out of the room. “Also, you really should research objects you aren’t familiar with before you use them. Just a tip.”

When I stepped outside and saw his car, I remembered Elijah had driven us here. I started toward home and sent Nik a text asking him to come walk with me. Within minutes, he was beside me and we walked together in silence. I could feel the anger radiating from him but I had no interest in trying to calm him this time.

We were nearly home when the pain came again. I gasped and dropped to my knees. Nik felt it as well, but recovered quickly. He ran me into the house and sat me on the couch in the living room. He paced the floor as he watched me, waiting for me to be ready for his tirade. I couldn’t believe after everything I said that they’d daggered Elijah again. Actually, yes I could. He’d told me he was going after Elena. When the pain subsided I straightened and followed Nik with my eyes.

“I have been merciful, patient, even generous, for you. I have restrained myself when you were hurt protecting them. Now they have daggered my brother in spite of being told we mean the doppelganger no harm. How much leeway do you expect me to continue giving them when they continue to hurt my family?” His voice was cold, calm and that was far more terrifying than if he’d been yelling.

“I don’t.”

His head snapped to me in surprise.

“They’re scared. For the most part, they’re kids. They all operate on emotion. Reacting instead of thinking. Do it your way. Just try not to kill anyone I care about, please.”

He flashed in front of me and placed a hand on the side of my face. “They scramble like ants trying to save their queen. Would you sacrifice yourself for her as well?”

I smiled. “I’m not doing it for her, Nik. I’m doing it for you. Hybrids, remember? It will be okay.” He pressed his lips to mine. “You plot with your witches. I’ll get Elijah back.”

I shot a text off to Jonas asking him to meet me at the house the next day. Nik was also on his phone and I assumed he was doing the same thing with Greta and Maddox. “Tell them to come tomorrow,” I told him.

He glanced at me with a furrowed brow.

I shrugged. “We do have the house to ourselves.”

A wicked smile lit his features as he finished his text and slipped his phone into his pocket before stalking toward me.

***

THE NEXT DAY FOUND me in the living room with Jonas and Luka while Nik met with Greta and Maddox elsewhere. Nik had been exceptionally good about honoring my desire that Greta not be in our home any more than necessary. I curled up on the couch with my legs under me. “What do you know?” I asked.

Jonas leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees. “I helped Elijah find the doppelganger last night. He had me take their witch’s powers as punishment for his daggering.”

I looked at him in surprise. A witch without her powers was just a human. A shell of her former self. It was harsh. Elijah must have been furious to order it done.

Jonas gave me a small smile. “I’ll give them back when this is over.”

“I told Nik to do it his way from now on. I’m tired of protecting them when they don’t seem to care. They daggered Elijah again after he saw you last night.”

Jonas hung his head and his son sucked in a sharp breath.

“I assume he’s at the boarding house but I’m not sure. We need to find him and we need to undagger him. Those are our goals right now.”

It was decided that the safest way to get Elijah back was for me to go into the boarding house and undagger him if he was there. The problem was, there was always someone there. Yes, I had my magic but I didn’t want to risk hurting someone if I could help it.

Jonas and Luka came to me with a plan after several days had passed with no opportunity presenting itself. The moon had risen and we all sat at the dining table. Jonas wanted to cast a spell that would allow Luka to astral project to Elijah’s location. He wouldn’t be seen, but he’d be able to manipulate objects if necessary. I’d tried to get them to send me instead but Nik vetoed that.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked for approximately the hundredth time.

Jonas smiled at me. “I appreciate your concern, but we can do this, especially with you allowing me to channel your power.”

“We need to get Elijah back,” Luka added. “He’s done so much for us. We need to repay him.”

The spell was dangerous and I wanted to convince them not to do it, but I pressed my lips together instead. They knew the risks, they knew what they were doing and I’d already tried to talk them out of it several times. Nik sat at the far end of the table watching us. Candles covered the surface of the table except for the end where we sat. More energy to pull from. I lit them with a concentrated thought then held my hands out to the two men.

Jonas opened his grimoire to the correct page and grasped our hands. “Focus on Elijah, Luka,” he instructed before closing his eyes and beginning to recite the spell.

After a moment, Luka spoke. “I’m there. It’s the Salvatore house. I see Damon and Elena reading.”

“Good,” Jonas said. “Keep looking for Elijah, you should feel a pull to him.”

There was a long stretch of silence then Luka grunted.

“What is it?” Jonas asked.

“I found him but Elena is fighting against me pulling the dagger out. She’s stronger than me.”

My eyes snapped open in surprise. “That’s not Elena. That’s Katherine.”

“Kill her,” Jonas instructed. “Find a stake and kill her.”

“No.” Nik and I spoke at the same time.

“I have plans for her. She doesn’t need to die. Just shove the stake through her neck.”

Jonas frowned at my instructions but said, “Do as she says, son.”

“I got her,” Luka said after a moment and I couldn’t help smirking. Poor Katherine.

Suddenly, the boy burst into flames. His body thrashed and he fell out of his chair. Nik grabbed a blanket and smothered the fire before we could even get to his side. A horrible smell filled the air.

Jonas felt for a pulse. “Wake up, Luka. Please come back.”

He grabbed his grimoire from the table and started to recite a spell. It was similar to the spell I cast to take some of Jenna’s injury but Luka was already gone. I put a hand on the witch’s shoulder. “It won’t work, Jonas.” My voice cracked and I took a breath to calm myself. I needed to be the strong one here. What I’d just witnessed was awful but it wasn’t my son.

Nik placed a hand on the back of my neck, offering me comfort.

Jonas suddenly looked at me. “You can help him. Bring him back.”

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“You can.” He grabbed my wrists in a bruising grip.

“Release her,” Nik said. When the witch didn’t comply the hybrid forcibly pushed him back.

Tears pooled in my eyes as I looked at the grieving father. “I won’t pay that price, Jonas. I’m sorry.”

Jonas growled in rage and angry tears rolled down his face. He turned back to his things and came back with two objects wrapped in his grip he began reciting a spell from his grimoire.

“What are you doing, Jonas?” Nik asked. Jonas didn’t answer so Nik moved closer and asked again, his voice wary. There were few things worse than a truly angry witch. And Jonas had nothing left to lose. Luka and Jonas shared a rare bond, doing everything together. Greta on the other hand, he rarely talked to. Not that I blamed him for that one.

The front door flew open and I was slammed against the wall, my feet dangling above the floor. “What did you do?” Stefan asked. He looked more panicked than angry. I didn’t have a chance to answer before he went flying across the room. Nik stalked after the vampire he had just thrown.

He picked Stefan up by the neck. “Nice see you again, mate. You don’t remember me, but my name is Klaus. And that is my girl. You do anything like that again and I will rip your bloody heart out.”

“It’s your fault,” Jonas said suddenly and we all turned to look at him. “All of you killed him so I will take away the thing you need the most.” All three of us fell to the floor as Jonas cast a pain spell. It faded when he left. I stayed on the floor with my knees pressed against my chest, thinking.

The scene replayed in my head as I tried to figure out what Jonas had in his hand when he cast the spell. Nik knelt beside me. “Cassie? Are you all right?”

I nodded as I realized what he’d been holding. “A hairband.” I saw the image in my head. “And silver? Pieces of silver?” I gasped and looked down at my wrist. Jonas had taken the bracelet I’d been wearing when he grabbed my wrists. With it he could channel my power.

I started to put the pieces together in my head as I remembered our earlier conversation. “The thing we all need is Elena. He was doing a locate spell.” I grasped Nik’s hand. “And he can pull power from me. I’ll try to stop him but I’m not sure I can.”

“I just called her,” Stefan said from beside us. “She’s at the Grill.”

I kept hold of Nik’s hand. “Stay.” I did my best to sound scared and pathetic. It was far easier than I liked.

He frowned at me, obviously trying to figure out my sudden personality change, but he simply turned to Stefan and said, “Go. Save your girl. I need to take care of mine.”

Stefan was gone in a blink. I released Nik’s hand and stood. “Let’s go.”

Nik blinked at me in confusion.

“We’ve got an Original to save. They’ll all be trying to save Elena. The boarding house will be empty. Let’s go.”

 


	18. Chapter 18

WE ARRIVED AT THE boarding house to find I was correct. “Come on.” I led Nik through the house and down to the basement. It didn’t take long for us to find the cell where Elijah was stored.

“You certainly know your way around,” Nik observed.

“Don’t start. What did they do to him?”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say they tried to burn him.” He sounded slightly amused.

“I guess that’s when they got Luka.” I sighed then a thought suddenly occurred to me. “Did Elijah still have the moonstone?”

Nik frowned. “Yes. We thought it safer with him than anywhere else. Apparently we were mistaken.”

“Take him home and undagger him. I’ll be there shortly.”

I could tell he wanted to argue but he merely nodded. I went to the kitchen. A candle and a knife to spill some blood and I was in business. I knew the moonstone was in the house, I just needed to figure out where.

Jonas pulled on my magic once, but it was short lived. I wasn’t worried about Elena as I doubted Jonas would kill her. More likely he wanted to use her to make me do the spell to bring his son back to life. Not that it would work. There was some magic even I wouldn’t do.

I closed my eyes and cast the locate spell. Damon’s room. I tried to pinpoint a more precise location, but that was as close as I could get. When I was done searching his room I understood why they called it tossing a room. Clothes were everywhere, books and papers scattered on the floor. I was running out of places to look.

The bathroom was the last untouched part of his room. I dug through cabinets and drawers. I even took the back off the toilet to look inside. Damn it. I was running out of time. I turned to go back into the other room and my eyes fell on the large bowl of decorative soap on the vanity. He wouldn’t. I dug through them. He did. I wrapped my hand around the moonstone and hurried from the house.

Halfway home I received a text from Stefan telling me Elena was fine and Jonas was dead. I didn’t respond. The fact was I was beginning to wonder how many people were going to die so Elena could live. That girl had a lot of blood on her hands.

Nik met me at the door when I got home. I handed him the moonstone and he rewarded me with a kiss. “Elijah is awake. I believe he is cleaning up.”

I leaned my head against his chest, letting him wrap his arms around me.   

When I pulled back, I saw Elijah standing at the bottom of the steps in a jeans and t-shirt. I hurried over and gave him a hug. “Next time I say we should leave somewhere, let’s go, okay?”

“Okay, Cassie.” He hugged me back and I heard the smile in his voice. “Nik says you’re the one to thank for my rescue.”

I stepped back to look at him. “Jonas and Luka are both dead. I’m sorry.”

“Jonas is dead, too?” Nik asked from behind me and I nodded.

“I got a text on the way home. Elena’s fine and Jonas is dead. I know you two don’t want to hear it but this is really on them. I tried to talk them out of doing the astral projection. I told them we could continue to wait for an opportune moment and get into the house and release you. They weren’t as patient as I was.” I sighed. “I can pretty much guarantee that Damon would not have set me on fire if I’d been there in person.”

“Pretty much doesn’t fill me with a great deal of confidence, love,” Nik arched a brow.

“Anyway. I’m sorry, Elijah. I know they’ve been with you for a while.”

He nodded his thanks just as my phone rang.

“Salvatore.” I couldn’t stop my smirk as I answered.

“Grimes,” he growled in response. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

“Not really.”

“You little thief.” He was angry but he also sounded a little impressed.

“To be fair, you did steal Elijah from me first and he had the moonstone so it was more like a retrieval.” Both Originals were smiling. I had a feeling it was going to be short lived. “Look. Let’s start over. You daggered Elijah and took the moonstone. I retrieved them. You killed Jonas and Luka. We’re even. Let it be.”

I hung up without waiting for a response.

“Do you think that will work?” Elijah asked.

I shrugged. “We can only hope. We have everything we need to break the curse except the full moon. I’d prefer it if we weren’t fighting for the next several days.”

The doorbell rang. “Oh come on,” I said as I answered it.

“Well, hello to you, too.” Isobel stood on the porch. I felt a surge of joy at seeing her again but, just as quickly, I remembered who she was now, what she’d done. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“No.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “What are you doing here?”

She scowled then stepped into the house. I threw up my hands in annoyance and walked off. “Nik, I assume it’s for you. We’ve really got to do something about the riff raff having access to our house.” I grabbed my keys and headed back out. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

I didn’t look at any of them as I walked out. The last time I encountered Isobel with her humanity off, she’d nearly killed me. This thing that was here was not my aunt. I didn’t feel like answering the questions the Originals would have for me. Not with her here.

I called Ric as I got behind the wheel. “You need to meet me at the Gilberts. Now.”

It was time to have a conversation with Jenna and attempt a little damage control. Ric and I pulled up at the same time and he looked at me in confusion as we got out of the cars. “Do you love Jenna?”

He frowned. “Yes. What is this about?”

“Isobel’s back. It’s time to tell Jenna.”

“Elena doesn’t want her to know.”

Irritation spike through me. “Okay. Here’s the thing. I love Elena. She’s family. But she is a teenager. She’s not in charge of shit.” I walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Jenna answered with a smile.

“You know you can just come in,” she chastised.

“It’s late. I didn’t want to startle anyone.” I gestured to Ric standing at the bottom of the steps. “And I have company.”

Jenna’s smile dropped and she looked between the two of us. “We need to talk. It’s important.”

“Yeah, sure. Come on in,” she said and stepped back. Elena stepped into view just as we came inside.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped at me. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. I snatched it from her hand.

“Elena?” Stefan’s voice came over the phone.

“Hello, Stefan. Would you be so kind as to collect your brother and join us at the Gilbert house? Thank you.”

“You know he’s going to freak, right?” Ric said. I turned to find him fighting a smile.

“We might as well be comfortable for this.” I gestured toward the living room and handed Elena back her phone. I stayed on my feet while everyone else sat. “I’m going to make this as simple as possible. Jenna. You probably aren’t going to believe anything I have to say, but I need you to listen and understand. I will prove what I can, okay?”

She nodded but looked utterly confused.

“Vampires, witches, werewolves and who knows what else are all real. The founding families have a council they use to hunt and kill supernatural creatures in Mystic Falls. Elena is a doppelganger. We both descended from a line that was used to cast a spell a thousand years ago. There are some very old vampires that want to end that spell. To do that they need Elena’s blood but she is in absolutely no danger. Oh, and I am a witch.”

Ric and I looked at her expectantly while Elena glared at me. Jenna stared at me with wide eyes.

“I thought you said you were keeping it simple?” Ric muttered beside me.

I shrugged. “That was simple, considering.”

Then Jenna started to laugh. “This is a joke, right?”

None of us responded or smiled.

“Oh, come on. You guys can’t actually believe this.”

There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” I yelled, knowing only invited vampires could get in. Sure enough it was the Salvatores.

“Elena, are you okay?” Stefan asked, rushing to her side.

I rolled my eyes and Damon smirked. “I told him you wouldn’t do anything to her.”

“I forgot to mention that Stefan and Damon are vampires.”

Jenna stood. “Okay, this has been fun. But I’m going to bed.”

“Sit down, Jenna.”

When she ignored me and tried to leave the room, I looked at Damon. He sighed but stepped in front of her. “You should sit, Jenna. Just give us ten minutes.”

She looked at all of us then resumed her seat. “Okay. Prove it.”

“Mr. Salvatore. If you please.” I held my wrist out to Damon.

He flashed over to me and took my wrist in his hands. Jenna frowned. “How did he do that? He was behind me just a second ago.”

He let his face vamp out and bit into my wrist. He only took a couple of sips before pulling back. He frowned at me. “You aren’t on vervain.”

“I wouldn’t have offered you my vein if I was, Salvatore.” Hadn’t we already had this conversation once?

With a whisper I cast the spell to light the candles in the room. The fire flared then died completely as I pulled my magic back. Ric sat next to Jenna and took her hand. “Cassidy saved your life when you were stabbed. She cast a spell that let her take part of your injury.”

Jenna’s eyes got wide and tears pooled. “You did that?”

I gave her a little smile. “Anything for my family.”

“But I don’t understand. You all knew this? You’ve all known this?”

I took a breath. “Some people thought it would keep you safe if you weren’t involved in the drama because, believe me, this town is chock full of supernatural drama. I have a very specific reason I’m telling you. My aunt, Ric’s wife, is a vampire.”

Jenna pulled her hand from Ric’s.

“He honestly thought she was dead until recently. And in a way she is. Isobel hasn’t adapted well to being a vampire. She has no humanity. She’s good at pretending she does though.” I directed the last to Elena. “She almost killed me because I believed her lies.”

Ric looked to me, his eyes wide. “What? When was this? You never told me about this.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I just…is there anything else I should know?” Jenna was taking this better than I thought she would. Though Ric had told me that she’d had suspicions they were all keeping something from her for a while now.

The doorbell rang. “Leave it,” I said as several people moved to answer it. “Yeah. Isobel is in town.”

I answered the door, not surprised at all when Isobel stood on the other side of it. “Can I help you?”

“I’m here to see Elena.”

“No. You’re here to see Ric’s girlfriend. Go away.” I slammed the door only to have her ring the bell again. I turned my back to the door and leaned against it. I crossed my arms over my chest and dropped my head. I concentrated on reciting one of the first spells I ever memorized. Isobel’s screams drifted to me through the door and I smiled.

“She really did almost kill you.”

I looked up to find Ric looking at me worriedly. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

I straightened from the door and dropped my magic. “I was spoiling her fun.”

“Why would she do that? To you of all people?”

I shrugged but always suspected she thought I would let her heal me and then she could turn me. She knew that I intended to save Nik and for some reason she really didn’t want that to happen.

“I’ve got to go,” I said. “Talk to Jenna, Ric. Get this worked out.”

“Yeah.” His voice was quiet and I gave him a little smile before walking out the door.  

Nik met me when I got home. “Did you and Aunt Isobel have fun?”

He kissed me then stepped back. “You know, every memory you’ve told me of her has been a happy one. Yet it was obvious her presence bothered you today. Why?”

“Let’s just say we had a falling out.”

“Not good enough, sweetheart.”

I sighed. “I’m going to need a drink if we’re going to do this.”

He put an arm around my shoulders and I looped mine around his waist as he steered us into the living room. Elijah sat reading in one of the chairs and smiled at me when we came in. I sat on the couch and Nik went to pour us a drink. “Brother, can I get you something to drink? Cassie is going to tell us a story.”

Elijah put his book on the table and looked at me expectantly.

“It’s not that interesting,” I warned him.

Nik handed me my drink and sat beside me on the couch. I took a fortifying sip then began my story. “It was a couple of years ago when I finished my Master’s degree. Isobel came to celebrate with me. We were at a bar. She excused herself. When she didn’t come back I went looking. She’s was three victims in when I found her in the store room.”

“That’s when I realized she had her emotions off. She was damn good at faking it. She had three more victims lined up, compelled and waiting their turn. I told her to let them go. When she refused I hit her with a pain spell.  Just for a minute. Just to show her what I could do. I didn’t want to really hurt her. I loved her.” I cleared my throat. I didn’t make a practice of remembering that night if I could help it. Nik put his hand on my leg and rubbed it in a comforting gesture.

“When I stopped, she told me she was sorry. That I was right. She’d let them go. Before I realized what was happening, she stabbed me with a metal nail file that had fallen out of one of her victims’ purses. I tried to cast the pain spell again and she ran it all the way down my side.” I lifted my shirt to show Elijah the scar that Nik was already familiar with.

“She’s the one that gave you that?” Nik asked, his voice angry and low.

I nodded. “As I lay there bleeding and gasping for air, she ripped out the throats of the three I’d told her to release.” I drained my drink and Elijah immediately hopped to his feet to refill it for me. “It’s funny you know. I have all these spells that I help people with. Hurt people with. But when it came time to save my own sorry ass, my mind was blank.”

“She tried to feed me her blood and I pulled myself together enough to hit her with the pain spell again. When I was done she hissed at me and took off. Tonight was the first time I’ve seen her since then.”

“What happened after she left?” Elijah asked.

“Some poor bastard came in to get more Jim Beam. Called for help. They took me to the hospital and patched me up. My worst problems were a punctured lung and blood loss. And a new found hatred for my favorite family member.”

“Well, that explains your fondness for bourbon,” Nik said with a half-smile.

I put my glass down and curled up against his side.

“She was here to trade the doppelganger and the moonstone for Katherine’s freedom. She’s been compelled to do as I say. After this enlightening discussion I feel the need to inform you that your aunt won’t live through the day tomorrow.”

I felt an ache in my heart at the thought of Isobel going to her permanent death but I knew she wasn’t my aunt anymore. Not really, especially if she was willing to trade her only child for Katherine Pierce. I merely nodded, not trying to talk him out of it. I’d never truly feel safe as long as she was around.

***

NIK WOKE ME WITH a kiss the next morning. “Wake up, love. We’ve got some business to see to.”

I blinked awake and smiled at him. “Yes, oh great and mighty hybrid. I’ll be right down.”

He smirked at me and left the room.

I got up and dressed quickly before running a brush through my hair. Not knowing if we had to leave the house or not, I slid on a pair of tennis shoes as well. I trotted down the stairs and frowned when I didn’t immediately see Nik.

“In the study, love,” he called out. He must have heard me come down.

I made my way to the study to find Nik, Elijah and two men in suits I’d never seen before.

“Gentlemen, this is Cassidy Grimes.”

They both held out their hands and I shook them before sitting on the arm of Nik’s chair. “What’s going on?” I asked him.

“Sweetheart, these gentlemen are attorneys. They have some papers for you to sign.”

I frowned before picking up the document they slid across the desk to me. Nik was giving me his house. He leaned up behind me to speak in my ear. “To get rid of our riff raff problem.”

“Where do I sign?” I said immediately and he chuckled.

The Originals left while we finished the paperwork. Once the attorneys left, I met the brothers at the door and invited them both back into their house. Nik cupped my head in his hands and kissed me. “Feel better, sweetheart?”

“Knowing random vampires can’t walk in our house? Yeah, that makes me feel better.”

He looked up at Elijah and then back at me. “I have some things to do with your little friends. I’ll text you but I won’t be able to see you for a bit.”

I frowned. I didn’t like this, but I wasn’t going to ask. I’d told him to do it his way.

“Oh, and Isobel is dead.” He studied me to see my reaction, to make sure that I wasn’t upset with him. I dropped my eyes but leaned my head against his chest.

After a moment, I reached up to kiss him. “I love you, Nik.”

He gave me one more kiss then headed out the door.

“Are you okay, Cassie?” Elijah asked once Nik was gone.

“Do you know what he’s up to?” I asked.

He didn’t answer which was a yes.

“Is it wrong that I’m more concerned about him staying safe than I am about the fact he killed my aunt?”

Elijah put his arm around my shoulders. “He will be fine, little sister. We’re incredibly hard to kill as you know.”

I smiled at him. “Doesn’t mean it won’t hurt when someone tries.”


	19. Chapter 19

I TRIED ALL EVENING to reach Ric with no response. I wanted to talk to him about Isobel but he wasn’t returning any of my calls or texts. When I woke the next morning and still hadn’t heard from him, I headed to his apartment. It was possible he was avoiding me because Nik killed Isobel but knowing Ric it was just as possible the battery ran out on his phone and he didn’t even realize it.

I jogged up the stairs to Ric’s apartment. As I lifted my hand to knock, the door swung open. Ric stood there with a startled expression. “Hey.” I slipped my hands into my pockets. “I tried to call.”

“Oh. Sorry, I misplaced my phone.” He stepped out into the hall with me and shut the door behind him. “I was just on my way out. Minds to mold, classes to teach.”

“Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about Isobel.”

“Uh, no, actually. I need to go.” I narrowed my eyes as he walked past me and started down the stairs. Something was off. “I’ll call you later, Cassie.”

I sucked in a breath. “Niklaus Mikaelson. Get your ass back here right this second.”

He stopped and looked back to me, his eyes wide. When I just continued to glare at him he smirked. It was an expression I’d never seen on my uncle’s face. He sauntered up the stairs until he stood in front of me once more. “Hello, sweetheart. What gave me away?”

“The only people that call me Cassie are you and your brother.” He leaned forward to give me a kiss. I pushed back on his chest as I scrunched my nose. “I am not kissing my uncle, Nik. Not like that.”

He chuckled and opened the door to the apartment and walked back in. I followed behind, pausing only for a second when I saw Katherine sitting in a chair stabbing herself in the leg. I blinked. “That looks like fun.”

She glowered and looked like she wanted to say something but was for once smart enough to keep her mouth shut.

“Really, Nik. Couldn’t you pick anyone else? He’s family.”

“I did ask, sweetheart.”

“And he just said, sure invade my body, it will be great?”

Ric/Nik shrugged. “Well, he was unconscious at the time, but I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I took a seat with my back to Katherine. “Why even do this?”

He came up behind me and rubbed my shoulders. “Because Stefan Salvatore saw me, love. I won’t be able to get close to them without changing my face.”

“And why do you…” I trailed off. Some things I was better not knowing.  “You should get to school. Try not to eat any of the students.”

He laughed and kissed the top of my head. I followed him out of the apartment.

I spent the day in Nik’s study organizing the shelves. He had given me all of the grimoires he had attained over his many years. Eventually I would need to transfer the spells I wanted to use the most often into my own volumes. There were dozens of books here and way too many to shift through every time I wanted a spell.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out to find a text from Nik: _Chaperone the 60s dance with me_.

Before I could respond another text came in. This one was from Maddox: _Need help with Klaus. Meet us at the teacher’s apartment._

So glad everyone asks me instead of bossing me around. I sighed and grabbed my spell bag and headed back to my uncle’s apartment. Ric/Nik opened the door. “Cassie. So good to see you, love.”

“This is so creepy.” I walked in and set my bag on the counter. “What are we doing?”

He pursed his lips. “Your friends have decided amongst themselves that you have been compelled and therefore anything you told them is unreliable. They intend to kill me this evening to save their precious Elena.”

“What? How?”

Maddox stepped over from the corner where he’d been hiding. “Their witch is channeling an incredible amount of power.”

“Her powers must have returned when they killed Jonas. But I’ve met her, she’s not that strong. If she’s got that much power, it’s not all hers. And if she channels enough to kill Nik, she’ll die.” Was everyone in that group suicidal? Maybe I should pay for them all to go to a good therapist. I shook my head. “Okay, I’ll play chaperone. Though I think it’s you I’m chaperoning, not the kids. Maddox, put a protection spell on him. I’ll worry about keeping him alive at the dance.”

“That’s my girl.” Nik hugged me from behind.

“I’ll need something to wear, Nik. The sixties aren’t exactly thriving in my closet.” I wandered into Ric’s room to look at his things. Finally, I found a pendant that had been Isobel’s. I was hoping I could draw some of the power from Bonnie and store it in the pendant. Unlike the untrained witch, I wasn’t willing to take that much power into myself. Too dangerous and too much temptation.

 Ric was expected to be at the school early since he was a teacher. I went with him dressed in a short, flowered dress that had been delivered to Ric’s apartment after a couple of texts from Nik. I’d left my hair down but put on a wide hairband. Heeled 60s boot completed my ensemble. At least I blended with the crowd.

I stayed to the side while Nik danced through the crowd in Ric’s body. We were both watching for Elena and company. I was astounded at the number of kids dancing. All of my high school dances had involved groups of kids hanging around the perimeter of the gym drinking soda and talking. About an hour after the dance started, I saw them enter. One of the girls got up on stage and announced a dedication to Elena from Klaus.

I rolled my eyes. He was such a drama king. Elena and her friends stood in the middle of the dance floor looking around. Stefan shook his head. They were obviously depending on him to find Nik since he was the only one that had seen him. Bonnie dragged Jeremy away and Damon headed for Ric while Elena and Stefan started to dance. I was summoned by a jerk of Ric/Nik’s head.

“I’m not impressed,” I heard Damon say as I stepped up behind him.

“Hello, Salvatore,” I said before Nik had time to get offended.

Damon spun, his eyebrows shot up into his hairline, before he scowled at me. “Grimes. I don’t suppose you’re responsible for that dedication? Baby bro says he doesn’t see Klaus anywhere.”

I shook my head. “I’m just here to make sure everyone stays alive. You can’t object to that, can you?”

“You’d be surprised what I can object to.”

Nik cleared Ric’s throat. “I invited her, Damon. I still believe in her even if the rest of you don’t.”

Damon turned his scowl on his friend. “Huh,” was all he said before walking away.

I leaned against Ric’s side. “That was a very Ric thing to say.”

He pushed my hair behind my ear. “It was a very Nik thing to say, as well. Perhaps your uncle and I will get along after all this.”

It wasn’t long before Nik got impatient and wanted to make his move. “You might want to check the hallway if you want to help save the young Gilbert,” he said in my ear before he walked away.

Damn him. It was a distraction to keep me away from whatever else he had planned but I couldn’t just abandon Jeremy. I hurried into the halls and heard the sounds of a fight. I arrived just in time to see Damon get shot with a stake. The Salvatores had beat me to Jeremy’s rescue.

“Don’t!” I yelled as he was about to stab the teenager that shot him.

“Why not?”

“He’s compelled, Damon,” Stefan answered. “This is distraction. Go find Elena.”

Damon gave me a brief look before running past. I closed my eyes and recited a spell while Stefan kept the three teenagers Nik had compelled busy. I thrust my hands out once the spell was complete and all three kids fell to the ground.

“What did you do?” Stefan asked with wide eyes.

“Put them to sleep. Unfortunately, it only works on humans.”

He looked between me and the teens again.

“I told Damon I’m here to keep anyone from dying. I meant that. Now go.”

He flashed off and I cast my enhanced hearing spell. It wasn’t long before I heard Ric yell in pain. I was glad the link was to Nik’s body as I really didn’t want to feel whatever made him scream like that. I jogged through the halls cursing the stupid boots I was wearing. I slid into the cafeteria to see Ric on all fours. Papers flew around the room and lights flickered. I narrowed my eyes. It was a waste of magic. I used my magic to shut and seal the doors behind me.

“Cassie,” Ric/Nik groaned and Bonnie spun to face me.

She raised a hand to fling a spell at me and I grasped her wrist. I started saying the words that would siphon of her power and feed it into the amulet. “No.” Her eyes were wide and she shook her head. “You can’t.”

“You need to quit messing with magic you don’t understand, little girl.”

People began pounding on the door behind us and yelling for Bonnie and myself. Over her shoulder, I saw Ric stand with a knife in his hand and start in our direction. I used my magic to fling him backward and pin him to the wall.

He struggled for a moment then glared at me. “Cassidy!”

I released Bonnie and she passed out and slumped to the floor. I looked at Nik and released him. “Go.” He stared at me with furious eyes before leaving out another door. I turned and dropped the spell holding the door shut. Stefan and Elena swarmed in to kneel beside Bonnie.

“She’s all right.” Elena sighed in relief.

Stefan looked at me in confusion. “Why are you helping us?”

“Maybe she found a way out of her compulsion,” Damon said as he walked into the room with his hands in his pockets.

“Can’t be compelled, Salvatore. Even by an Original. But then I’ve told you that before. A couple of times.”

“Won’t your boyfriend be pissed you saved the witch?” he asked. “Maybe you should stay with us so we can protect you.”

I laughed. “He wouldn’t have tried to kill her if you weren’t trying to kill him. And if Nik wanted to hurt me, nothing on this earth could save me, least of all you, Salvatore.”

“He compelled Isobel to kill herself,” Elena said. She still sat on the floor holding Bonnie’s hand.

“Isobel had her own crimes to pay for.” I started to walk out the door before stopping and turning back to them. “Bonnie won’t be happy when she wakes. I took quite a bit of power from her, but it shouldn’t have been hers to begin with. I protect my family. _All_ my family.”

When I got home, I changed into a t-shirt and sweats. Elijah’s door was cracked and a light was on. I knocked on the door as I swung it the rest of the way open. “Hello, Cassie.”

I smiled at him. “Hey.” He sat in a chair with his feet propped up on the far side of his bed. I climbed onto the side closest to me and leaned against the headboard.

“Niklaus is not happy with you, to put it mildly.”

“I know. He’ll get over it.”

He shook his head. “Only you would test him like this.”

“It’s his own fault. He knew I wouldn’t let him just kill her. He thought he could distract me and failed. It’s not that easy to get rid of me. Did you know he was going to take over Alaric?”

“I knew. Does it matter?”

“I guess not.” I slid down in the bed and wrapped my arms around one of his pillows. “I’m just ready for all of this to be over, Elijah.”

“It will be soon, Cassie.”

“Not soon enough.”

The next morning I joined Elijah for breakfast.

“As Niklaus is still otherwise engaged and tomorrow is the full moon, is there anything you would like to do today?”

“Well since the vast majority of my friends and family either hate me, believe me to be compelled or are currently possessed by my boyfriend, I can’t think of much.”

His lips twitched as he tried not to smile. Jerk. My phone rang and I was surprised to see Damon’s name on the caller ID. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you anytime soon.”

“I wasn’t expecting to be calling. Listen, Elena wants to talk to you about the ritual and what exactly will happen. Can you come over?”

While I was happy they might actually be willing to listen, I didn’t trust them for a moment. “I can. But I’m bringing Elijah with me.”

There was a pause. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Well, this should be interesting,” Elijah said as we stood.

We arrived at the boarding house and I walked in without knocking. I turned in surprise when Elijah didn’t follow. He looked at me with a raised brow. “It seems I’m not invited.”

“Guess we weren’t the only ones with that idea.” I headed to the living room where I figured everyone would have gathered. The Salvatores and Elena were all present. “Elijah needs an invitation.” I gestured to the door with my thumb then walked the rest of the way into the room.

Elena started to get up but Stefan grasped her wrist and pulled her down. She rolled her eyes at me. “You may come in Elijah,” she yelled.

Elijah was beside me in a second. “Elena. Salvatores”

Damon scowled. “Look, this was not my idea. I was opposed to it actually but as usual no one cares what I think. So have at it, Miss Elena.”

“I need to do something first,” Elena said and stood. She came over and gave me a hug. I was surprised but gratefully hugged her back. I had always liked Elena and I didn’t like us being on opposite sides. “Thank you for saving Bonnie.”

“Of course. She’s a little impulsive, huh?”

Damon snorted. “Only when it comes to witch stuff. Otherwise you can’t get her to do anything.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s just you, Damon.” Stefan said.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out with a frown. It was a text from Jenna asking if I wanted to meet her and Ric for lunch. Today. I dialed Nik’s number only to have the call go to voicemail. Stubborn ass.

I showed the text to Elijah. We looked at each other for a moment as we debated what to do. _What is he up to?_ Elijah’s voice ran through my head.

_He’s pissed I interfered with his plans yesterday. I need to go over there._

Elijah nodded.

“Are we interrupting something?” Damon finally asked.

“No.” I turned to face them. “I need to go take care of something. Elijah can answer most of your questions. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Elijah handed me his keys and I jogged out to the car and drove to the Gilberts. I didn’t knock when I got there. “Jenna,” I yelled as I walked through the door. “I need to talk to you.”

Jenna came out to greet me with a hug. I looked over her shoulder to see Ric leaning on the doorframe. “Hello, Cassie.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and stepped back from Jenna as I gave him a tight smile. “What are you doing here?”

He straightened with a shrug. “You mess with my plans, I mess with yours.”

“What is he talking about, Cassidy?” Jenna asked.

I positioned myself so I was between the two of them.

He turned and walked into the kitchen. It looked like they were preparing some kind of meal. “So, Jenna. Tell me, what do you think of vampires?”

I laughed. This was his big plan? “Sorry, Nik. I might have forgotten to mention that we had this discussion with Jenna already.”

“Why did you call him Nik? What’s going on?”

“Do you remember when I told you two very old vampires were trying to break a spell? Ric has been infested by one of them.”

“Infested? That’s not very nice, love.”

“You mean…”

“I’m not your boyfriend,” Nik said to Jenna. “I’m hers.”

I curled my lip. “Could you not?”

He chuckled before picking up a large knife from the counter and beginning to play with it. I didn’t like the look in his eye. “Jenna, I think you should leave now.”

“But I— ” Nik lunged toward her with the knife and I wrapped him in magic and flung him against the wall.

“Go, Jenna!”

This time she ran. I walked over to him only to see fury burning in his eyes. “What the hell are you doing, Nik? You don’t threaten my family.”

“I thought I was your family, love.”

“If you weren’t you’d be in pieces by now.” I raked both hands through my hair and stalked away from him. Anger and hurt flowed through me in equal measure. Finally, the hurt won out. I released him from my hold but kept my back to him. Tears spilled down my cheeks. The worst part about loving someone is how badly they could hurt you without even trying. And Nik was an expert at it.

“Cassie?”

“I need to go.” I headed for the door.

“They need to know they can’t stop me. I’ll do whatever it takes to break this curse.”

“I think we are all very aware of that. I’ll see you later, Niklaus.”

I swiped tears from my eyes all the way back to the boarding house.

Everyone stopped talking when I walked into the living room. Jenna had joined the discussion it seemed. “Don’t stop on my account.” I sat on an open spot at the end of the couch.

“Grimes, don’t take this the wrong way, but are you okay? You look...not good.” I shook my head but didn’t elaborate.

“Is Ric…” Jenna trailed off.

“He’ll be fine, Jenna. Don’t worry.” I glanced at Elijah. “So, where are we?”

“I have explained about Niklaus’ curse. About the elements needed to break the spell. And the fact that you discovered that only a small amount of Elena’s blood was required. Was there anything else?”

The fact that I was sacrificing myself for my boyfriend and may never come back? No they didn’t need to know that. I twisted my hands together in my lap and looked down at them. “Don’t try to stop this. Don’t try to interfere. He…Klaus has been waiting a thousand years to undo the curse placed on him. He won’t allow anyone or anything to stop him.”

“Not even you?” Damon said after a moment.

“Not even me.” We all sat there in silence.


	20. Chapter 20

ELIJAH’S FACE WAS PINCHED with concern. “Perhaps we should go, Cassie.” I could tell he wanted to talk to me. At least he was courteous enough to stay out of my head while I was upset.

I looked at him then shot my eyes to Damon. “Bourbon?”

He nodded and poured the drink without question. I noticed Elijah glance at his watch and frown. He obviously did not approve of my day drinking.

“If you have somewhere to be, Elijah, you can leave. I can find my own way home.”

“Yeah. I can take care of Grimes here,” Damon said.

 _Are you certain?_ he asked.

I nodded. I needed to be somewhere there were no reminders of Nik right now and home was full of them. Elijah bade his farewells and left with a last look over his shoulder.

“This will all be over tomorrow,” I say to those left. “Just one more day.” I knew my morose attitude wasn’t inspiring any confidence in them but I didn’t know quite how to pull myself out of it. After a bit of quiet conversation, Elena and Stefan got up to leave, Jenna followed behind. Damon took my empty glass and refilled it. “Salvatore, I need to get wasted today. Think you can help me with that?”

He licked his lips and smirked at me. “That just happens to be one of my specialties.”

And help he did. By the time the sun went down I was well and truly drunk. And it was wonderful. I turned my phone off ages ago, not wanting to talk to Elijah or Nik and they were the only two likely to try to contact me. If it was an emergency they could always invade my head.

“If I didn’t know any better, Salvatore, I’d think you were a little tipsy yourself.”

He gave me that perpetual smirk of his. “Maybe I am. So what’s this all about, Grimes? You drunk enough to tell me yet?”

“Just a bit of a disagreement with my boyfriend with psychotic rage issues. I’m sure it’ll get better when his werewolf side is no longer dampened. Because werewolves are such rational creatures.” I nodded before letting out a snort of laughter.

“He didn’t…” Damon started then trailed off.

I was confused for a moment before I realized what he was getting at. “No. He didn’t hurt me. Not physically.” I sighed. “It’s not really him I’m upset with anyway. It’s me.” I tried to think of a way to word it without telling him precisely what tomorrow would entail for me. “I gave him a present. I thought it was a nice present, a great present, but he never even said thank you. Never even really acknowledged I’d given it to him really. It just hurts is all.”

“Well, if you ask me he sounds like a jackass.”

“He certainly can be.” Knowing it was past time for me to be heading home, I stood and put my glass on the table.

He stood as well. “You going to be okay?”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“Come on. I’ll walk you home.” He started for the door.

“No. I’m fine. Big scary witch remember?” He looked like he wanted to argue. “I need some time alone, Damon. I’ll be okay.”

He walked me to the door and gave me a hug before I stepped out in the night. I slid my hand into my pocket and turned my phone on. I was at the end of the Salvatores’ driveway before it quit chiming and vibrating. It began to ring almost immediately. I turned toward home and answered as I walked. “Hello.”

“Just so you are aware, Niklaus is quite furious that he hasn’t been able to reach you all day. And also, there is a distance limit on the mental communication apparently.” Elijah’s smooth voice ran through me, bringing a small bit of comfort with it.

“Is that all you wanted?”

“Are you okay, Cassie? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you like this.”

“Just celebrating my impending demise, Elijah. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

There was a stretch of silence. “Is there something you aren’t telling me about tomorrow? You have your spell and my potion, I thought you said that would be enough.”

“I might have overstated the abilities of my spell.” I never would have made the confession if I hadn’t had so much to drink. 

“You need to tell Niklaus.” He sounded sad. Maybe he’d miss me. At least a little bit. It would be nice to be missed a little.

Tears ran down my face and I sniffed. I’d been crying so much lately. I felt like such a baby. “He doesn’t care, Elijah. He never did.”

“How can you say that?”

“He’s never asked me how I plan to come back. Not even once.” I sat on the curb at the side of the road.

“You could drink some of our blood and come back as a vampire.”

I chuckled. “Won’t work. The Original witch bitch made sure of that. Untainted blood must be sacrificed. Did I mention that she really hates me? She’s the reason I got stuck on the Other Side last time. I think she’s also the reason you couldn’t find me when they kidnapped us. She’ll be happy to see me die. It’s okay Elijah. This is what I was spared for after all. I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”

“Let me come get you.” There’s a pleading note in his voice. I hung up without responding. I flip through the texts on my phone. All of Elijah’s ask how I’m doing, if I need anything, can he please help me. All of Nik’s are short where are you, call me, though the ones at the end were getting longer and more vulgar as he got more colorful with his language.

As much as he hurt me, he was still the one I wanted to see. I pressed the button to call him.

“Where the bloody hell have you been all day?” his accented voice growled at me. At least he wasn’t infesting my uncle any more. I hung up. I started walking toward Ric’s apartment. Either Nik was still there or Ric would be. Either worked for me.

My phone rang and I answered it. “Yes?”

“Cassie,” he seethed.

“Niklaus.” I needed another drink. The night air was sobering me up too much.

“What are you doing?”

“Walking.”

“Alone?” He sounded concerned.

“Don’t worry, hybrid. I won’t die before I’ve served my purpose.” I hung up again. It wasn’t long before he fell into step with me.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” His voice was low and calm. Apparently, his concern for me had overridden his anger.

I shook my head but didn’t answer. If I spoke I was going to start crying again.

“Cassie.” He grasped my arm, drawing me to a stop and turned me to face him. One look at his furrowed brow and I started to sob. He pulled me against his chest. One arm wrapped around my back while his other hand held the back of my head. He made shushing noises while I clutched his shirt and emptied out my sorrow.

“I’m sorry,” I said finally and pulled away.

He looped an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side as we continued to walk. “Now tell me what’s brought this on, love.”

“Only if you buy me a drink first.”

He chuckled and I let him steer us down the street. I was surprised when we ended up in front of Ric’s apartment. “Why here?”

“I compelled Katherine not to leave without my permission. Since then she’s taken vervain so the best way to insure we don’t lose her is to leave her here. Your uncle is passed out on the couch, though he should be right as rain in the morning and Greta and Maddox are at the house.”

“All right. Ric’s bourbon it is.”

I followed him up to the apartment and immediately went over to check on Ric. He appeared to be sleeping peacefully. I got a pillow and blanket from his bed. I propped his head up on the pillow and covered him with the blanket after I took his shoes off. Katherine was sitting in a chair off to the side with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. I ignored her. When I turned to the kitchen Nik already had two glasses of bourbon poured.

I sipped at one and then led him over to Ric’s bedroom. After closing the door, I cast my silence spell and sat on the edge of the bed. He sat next to me so our sides were pressed together. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”

My shoulders slumped as I twirled the drink in my hands. “You once told me you liked that I didn’t ask you for anything. I’m going to ask you for something now. I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to tell me the truth.”

“All right.”

“Do you even care that you have to kill me tomorrow?” My voice was quiet and broke on the last word. I felt stupid showing him my vulnerable side.

 “Is that what this is about? Come here.” He looped an arm around me and pulled me more tightly against him. He kissed the top of my head. “We can postpone if you wish. A month, six, I don’t care.”

I shook my head. “No. You’ve waited so long and you finally have everything you need. And I don’t mind doing it. I’m not asking you to tell me you love me, Nik. I guess I just want to know you’ll miss me if I don’t come back.”

He took the glass from my hand and sat it on the floor beside his. He tugged me closer until I sat in his lap. Looping both arms around me, he pulled me closer until my head was on his chest. I wrapped my arms around him. “What about Elijah’s elixir?”

I didn’t know Elijah had told him about that. “He wasn’t entirely sure of it working the first time around. Now it’s had five hundred years to sit around and lose potency.”

“And your spell?”

“It’s only effective about thirty percent of the time.”

“You weren’t planning on mentioning any of this to me?” He sounded hurt.

I shrugged. “I want you to be free, Nik. You deserve that.”

He hugged me and chuckled. “I suppose it’s just as well I have very little faith in anyone besides myself seeing to the things that need to be taken care of.” His hand slipped into his pocket and dug for a minute before pulling out a necklace with a large oval lapis lazuli pendant. It was set in silver with a silver wolf howling in front of it.

He handed it to me and I ran my thumb over it as I looked at it. The magic in it buzzed along my skin. “A resurrection spell?” My eyes jerked up in surprise to meet with his.

He gave me one of his half smiles and pushed my hair away from my face. “You didn’t think I was going to let anything happen to my girl, did you?”

I kissed him, trying to convey my gratitude through the gesture. He tangled his fingers in my hair and kissed me back as he lowered me to the bed. He pulled away only far enough to take off his jacket and drop it to the floor.

I laid a hand on his chest. “This is my uncle’s bed, Nik.”

“Then I’ll try not to break it,” he said with a wicked smile.

***

WHEN RIC WOKE THE next morning, I filled him in on what happened while he was out of it. Needless to say it wasn’t the best start to the relationship between him and Nik. He left to go find Jenna and Nik and I ate breakfast. Afterwards, we went home to change. Fortunately Greta and Maddox were gone so it was just us and Elijah. Nik and I took a long, eventful shower together.

After we got out I checked my phone to find I’d just gotten a text from Ric asking me to meet him and Damon at the Grill for a drink. I showed the text to Nik and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be back soon.”

When I got the Grill, both men were sitting at the bar looking like their dog had just been run over. “What’s up with you two?” I slid into the open seat beside Damon.

“Idiot here force fed Elena his blood. Now she’s pissed at him,” Ric supplied.

“Look, I screwed up okay? I panicked.” He looked at me. “Can’t you talk your boyfriend into postponing?”

I rubbed my eyes with my finger and thumb. How many times did I really have to go over this? “There is no reason to, Damon. Elena is not going to die and therefore will not become a vampire.”

“Hello, sweetheart.” Nik’s voice came from behind me and I spun on my stool.

“Hello, Nik,” I said with a smile. “Damon, Klaus. Nik, Damon Salvatore. You already met Ric.”

“Klaus,” Damon said with a sour expression. “I don’t suppose you’d consider postponing for a month?”

“You can’t be serious.” Nik glanced at me. “Is he serious?”

I gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Of course he is, Nik. We can’t risk having the precious Elena angry with us despite being told about a thousand time she’ll be perfectly fine.” I snatched Damon’s drink and downed it before setting the empty glass back in front of him. “I’ll wait for you by the door.”

I could feel their eyes follow me as I walked away. Unable to resist I cast my spell for enhanced hearing. “I don’t usually make a habit of allowing those who harm my family to live. I do so only at her insistence. She is correct that Elena will be unharmed at the end of the evening. However, to break the curse I do have to sacrifice a Petrova. Not that I expect any of you to care.”

I dropped my magic as he made his way to me. I laced my fingers in his and he brought my hand to his mouth to kiss the back of it. I followed him out the door. We returned to the house so I could prepare for the ritual. I changed into the shortest pair of shorts I could find and a tank top before pinning my hair up on top of my head. I wore the amulet that held the power I’d drained from Bonnie. Nik and Elijah followed me out to the greenhouse.

I placed four stone bowls, representing the four elements, at the cardinal directions placing the herbs I’d mixed together days before in the appropriate bowls. “As our other witches are otherwise occupied or dead, I need your help. I’m going to cast my resurrection spell. When I put my hands flat on the ground instead of having them fisted, I need you to dump the bowls onto the ground where they are sitting.” Both brothers nodded and moved to opposite sides of where I sat up.

I handed my blade to Nik. “I need you to slice my palms.”

His jaw grew tight but he gave me a short nod.

I took a deep breath before holding my hands in front of me, palms up. Nik sliced across both of them with one movement, sending stinging pain flaring through me. I dripped my blood into the bowls before laying on the patch of grass in the middle of them. I closed my eyes and focused. The harsh scent of burning herbs soon filled the air. I began to recite the spell, drawing on the power in the amulet to help me cast a stronger spell. Once I had repeated the words three times, I placed my palms flat on the ground.

Clothing rustled as the brothers moved to do my bidding. Power radiated to me from each bowl as its contents were given to the earth. A crackle of energy surrounded me, made the hair on my arms stand up. Then there came a moment that felt like the air itself inhaled and released itself across my body. I opened my eyes and held up my hands. “Help me up.”

Each brother grasped a wrist and pulled me to my feet. “You don’t see that every day,” Nik said beside me. I looked over my shoulder to see lightning bolts burned into the ground around the outline of my body.

“Does that mean it worked?” Elijah asked.

“Well, boys, let me put it this way. Between that spell, Nik’s amulet and your potion, if I don’t come back. The universe really wants me dead.”

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

I WAS TRYING TO keep it light hearted but I saw the unease in Nik’s eyes. I kissed him on the cheek and headed upstairs to get changed. I decided on jeans and a t-shirt along with a practical pair of hiking boots. I put on the amulet from Nik and redid my hair, but kept it pulled up off my neck so he’d have easier access.

Both brothers were waiting for me when I came down the stairs. Elijah handed me the elixir. I opened the bottle and grimaced at the scent. “Bottoms up.” The first swallow triggered my gag reflex but I forced it down. I handed the empty bottle to Elijah and Nik passed me a glass of bourbon, which I downed gratefully. “Well that was disgusting.”

Elijah wrapped me in a hug and held me for a long time. Finally he cleared his throat and stepped back. “I’m going to go make sure Maddox is getting everything set up and collect our doppelganger. I’ll see you soon, little sister.”

When he left, Nik just looked at me before taking my hand and leading me outside. “Come, sweetheart.”

We ended up at Ric’s apartment just as the sun started to disappear below the horizon. Nik grabbed Katherine by the neck and tried to compel her into telling him what she’d been up to. She insisted she’d only been making coffee. He made her strip her bracelet and stand in the sun.

 _What are you doing? You know she’s on vervain._ I sent to him.

 _Yes, but she doesn’t want me to know that and this is so much fun. Besides, I smell the elder Salvatore._ “That’s enough,” he told her after several seconds of watching her burn in the last rays of sunlight. “Guess I was wrong.” He handed her back her bracelet and I shook my head.

Nik paced the floor as it grew closer to the time for the ritual. “Where is Greta? She should have been here by now.”

“I thought you were going to have Greta break the curse?” I asked as I took a seat. “Elijah said Maddox was setting up.”

He gave me a small smile. “I thought you’d feel more comfortable with Maddox doing the ritual. Was I wrong?”

I shook my head. I didn’t trust Greta at all.

Nik kissed the top of my head just before the apartment door flew open and Damon appeared in the middle of room. Nik sighed. “I should have figured you’d been invited in. What do you want?”

“You have to postpone the ritual. Give Elena and Cassidy another month.”

“Didn’t we already discuss this?”

“That was before I rescued your wolf and vampire and killed your witch.” Damon was so proud of himself I almost hated to tell him the truth. Almost.

“I’ll be fine, Salvatore. And we were never going to use Caroline or Tyler. Give me a little credit,” I told him. Greta had taken them earlier strictly to use as a decoy in case this exact situation happened.

“Then who?”

“We still have Jules or did you forget?”

“And the vampire?”

“I have a good mind to use you, the way you keep interfering with my plans,” Nik snapped at him.

“Stop it,” I chastised.

“Fine.” He walked over to Katherine and clamped shackles around her wrists so he could hold onto her easier. “Katerina, come.”

The vampire’s eyes widened in fear. “You can’t be serious. I brought you everything you needed.”

“Actually, love, Cassie did that and I did promise her you would die. I always keep my promises to the people I care about. One more thing,” he said and turned back to Damon. Before I could blink, he snapped Damon’s neck and my friend collapsed to the floor. Annoyance flared through me but it was probably better if he was out of the way. He did have a tendency to screw things up.

When we arrived at the clearing where the sacrifice was to take place, Elena and Jules were already there surrounded by circles of fire. Nik shoved Katherine forward and another circle flared up around her with a gesture from Maddox. It was all very dramatic. Katherine was trying to complain, but I’d wrapped my magic around her vocal cords on the way over.

Nik leaned down and gave me a long, thorough kiss. “I love you, Nik.” He ran and a hand down the side of my face then stepped over to Maddox.

He handed over the moonstone. “Kind of hate to give this up after I spent so long looking for it,” he said. Maddox gave him a smile and a nod. The witch dropped the stone onto the altar and it flared up in flames. My heart sped. This was it. Nik exchanged a glance with me then made his way over to Jules.  My eyes fell on Elijah who stood to one side, leaning against a tree, doubtless ready to step in if his help was needed.

The flames dropped around the wolf and I gasped as she lunged at Nik. But he was prepared and easily stopped her. He shoved her to the ground, kneeling over her for a brief moment before plunging his hand into her chest. Tears leaked from the werewolf’s eyes. He ripped out her heart and carried it over to the altar with a triumphant smile. I curled my lip at the gore. I had to remind myself that his mother had done this, made this necessary. And the world wasn’t going to miss either of the sacrifices.

Nik held the wolf’s heart over the flames while Maddox continued to chant. The blood dripped onto the altar and fed the spell. Even I could feel the flare of magic and I wasn’t the one doing the casting.

“It’s working,” Maddox said and Nik’s smile widened. As terrified as I was about all this, I couldn’t help but be happy that my hybrid would finally be free. He squeezed the heart to get as much liquid as he could from it and into the basin of the altar before tossing it aside.

Next, was Katherine’s turn. Nik headed for her circle and I followed behind with my knife and a bowl. The circle dropped and Katherine flashed straight for me. She came to a sudden halt inches away with Nik’s hand wrapped tightly around her throat. “Goodbye, Katerina.” He shoved a stake into her heart and dropped her to the ground as she turned ashen gray. I cringed. I wouldn’t miss Katherine, but she did have the same face as my cousin. It was unnerving to watch her die.

He stepped to the side and I knelt beside her body. I sliced my knife across her wrist and began to drain the blood into the bowl I’d brought with me. Once I’d obtained enough for the spell I rose to my feet and handed the bowl to Nik. He carried it back to Maddox who chanted the next part of the ritual while he added the offering to the basin.

When he finished, he handed the bowl back to Nik and I handed him my knife. The circle around Elena dropped. She looked terrified but then who wouldn’t after seeing two people sacrificed. “It’ll be fine, Elena.” I gave her a smile.

The circle dropped and she started to back away from Nik. I held her with my magic and she looked to me in panic. Stepping forward, I took the bowl from Nik and held it while he grasped Elena’s hand and sliced across the palm. Her blood flowed into the bowl I held. “That’s enough,” I said after a moment.

He bit into his thumb and spread his blood across Elena’s cut to heal her. “You are free to leave, doppelganger.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She looked at me, hesitating then took off across the clearing and into the trees. I followed her with my eyes and was surprised to see Elijah pinning Stefan to a tree. I hadn’t even heard the altercation. Elijah released the younger vampire as Elena approached them. They embraced and turned to glance back at me. I shook my head and motioned to Stefan to take her away. Fortunately, he did as I instructed. Elena did not need to see this.

Her blood was added to the rest on the altar. When Maddox finished chanting, he filled a chalice with the blood from the basin and handed it to Nik who drained it dry. Dropping it to the ground when he finished, he turned to me. “It’s time, sweetheart.”

I nodded and a sound behind him caught my attention. Elijah stood over the crumpled form of Damon. I wondered how many times he was going to get his neck broken today. Nik nodded at Elijah in thanks and turned back to me. He took my hand in his and pulled me close. His hand framed my face as he lowered his lips to mine and kissed me. Tears ran down my face but I smiled at him as he pulled away.

His gaze held mine for a long time. “Thank you, Cassie,” he whispered then lowered his face into my neck. He laid a trail of kisses along the delicate skin then bit into me. The pain quickly slid to pleasure as he drank from me. My hands which had grasped onto his shirt began to grow weaker, to loosen. I gasped as it became harder to breath. Finally, Nik pulled away. Tears ran down his face and then everything went black.

***

WHEN I CAME TO, it wasn’t what I was expecting, though I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t anticipated this. I awoke in the blue-tinged world of the Other Side. Elijah cradled my body against his chest and Nik’s screams filled the air as he shifted into a wolf. The ritual was a success. The curse was broken. Maddox picked up a backpack from the ground and put the items he’d used in the ritual away. I walked over to my body and pressed my hand against it. Nothing changed. I sighed.

I heard a howl and snapped around to find a black wolf with golden eyes staring in our direction. “I will take her home and watch over her brother,” Elijah said then flashed away.

Maddox took a step toward Nik and the wolf snarled showing his teeth. Maddox held up his hands and backed away, dropping the backpack. “Clothes are in there, boss. I’ll wait for your call.” With that he turned and threw Damon over his shoulder to carry him off into the woods.

I ran my eyes over Nik’s new form, wishing I could run my fingers through his fur and let him know everything was going to be okay. It took several minutes for me to realize those yellow eyes were staring directly at me. “Can you see me?” I asked.

The wolf yipped and ran into the trees. I moved to follow then heard a voice behind me. “What have you done?”

I turned to see a woman dressed in a long gown, a halo of power surrounding her. I said nothing as I watched her approach. “You stupid, stupid girl.” She was a pretty woman, but her scowl contorted her features into an ugly mask. “How could you do it? How could you let _him_ do it? Do you have no understanding of the power you have unleashed upon the world?”

It suddenly occurred to me who this must be. “The Original witch bitch. I’d say in the flesh but…Well, you get my point.”

“My name is Esther.” She looked down her nose at me as if expecting me to be impressed or tremble before her. Neither of which were likely to happen.

“You tried to kill me once.”

She laughed at that. “More than once, child. Yet you have alluded me at every turn.”

“I’m resilient like that.”

“I think I begin to understand what my son sees in you. I however do not understand what you see in a monster like Niklaus.”

My magic buzzed under my skin begging me to use it. I was under no delusions that I could come close to matching this woman however.  “Your son is what you and Mikael made him. If he is a monster, it is because you created it.”

She slapped me then. My head jerked to the side with the impact. Pain flared through my cheek and up into my head. I shouldn’t have been able to feel that. Magic. Damn witch. I glared at her but did not retaliate. “Say whatever you want, child. The fact is, while Niklaus may have broken his curse with your help, I will never allow you to return to him. He will continue to be alone forever.”

I really hated this woman. “Not to think too highly of myself, but I am the one thing that might be able to help him curb his violent tendencies. And you want to keep me from going back just to make sure he doesn’t find happiness? What kind of twisted bitch are you?”

She moved to strike me again and I thrust my hands in front of me, pushing her back with my magic. Her face twisted in fury and she began to chant, weaving her hands through the air. I gasped and sank to my knees as magic flowed from me. My resurrection spell and the magic from Elijah’s elixir both left me. Pure panic flooded through me until I remembered Nik’s amulet. It wasn’t here. She couldn’t pull the magic from that.

It suddenly occurred to me that the sun was shining brightly overhead. Damn time distortion. Esther gave me an evil smile. “You may go now, child. Go. Watch him weep over your corpse. Then I will find you and we will finish this…discussion.”

My heart ached for Nik and Elijah both that this horrible woman had been their mother. With a thought I arrived in the living room of our home. My body laid on the couch, a pillow behind my head. My arms were crossed over my chest. Elijah sat in the chair beside me. A bottle of alcohol and a glass sat on the table in front of him. A book sat beside him, discarded.

While he may have started his vigil at ease, now he leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together in front of him. Occasionally he would look at my body, searching it for signs of life no doubt, then he’d look away. I touched my body again with no luck. I sighed and sat on the table.

Elijah startled me when he raked his hands into his hair and said, “You have to come back, Cassie. If you don’t, it will destroy him.”

My heart ached. The front door flew open and I jumped from my spot. Elijah dropped his hands and watched the door, waiting for Nik to appear.

“Cassie! Elijah!” he called out, his voice jubilant, free. I smiled to hear him so happy. “Where are you, sweetheart? We did it.”

He stepped into the living room and the grin on his face fell as he looked between my body and his brother. “Elijah? What is this? What happened? She was supposed to be back by now.” 

“I don’t know, Niklaus. Maddox looked at her some time ago and said she will either return or she won’t. There is nothing he can do for her. Elena and the others came by to talk to her as well. They were most displeased to see her in this state. I should mention the Salvatores were able to enter without an invitation.” Meaning I was dead so it no longer mattered that the deed was in my name. “I’ll leave you.”

My eyes followed Elijah as he left, his shoulders slumped. He looked utterly defeated. Nik sat beside me on the table and stared at my body. Tears pooled in his eyes and his lips trembled. His head dropped forward and he reached forward to find my hand, grasping it in his.

“Not worth it.” His voice was so quiet I almost didn’t hear it. “It’s not worth it. Not if I lost you.”

I would have wept if I had the body to do so. My ethereal hands twisted in my lap, wanting to hold him. To comfort him. My poor hybrid.

Dropping to his knees beside the couch, he screamed. The sound was guttural, mournful and heart wrenching. Damn his mother. If she weren’t already dead, I would kill her for bringing him this pain.

He suddenly slapped my face, hoping to bring me back as he’d done before but it didn’t work. “No!” he screamed, his face a mask of pure rage. “Curse you. You can’t do this. I love you, you pain in the ass witch. You can’t leave me here.”

He watched expectantly as if those words would suddenly bring me back to life and my heart broke.  Suddenly, his face shut down. There was no other word for it. He grew hard, his jaw clenching, making the muscles in his jaw twitch. Tears still ran down his face but he was all cold anger now. This was my hybrid at his most terrifying.

“Listen to me, witch. If you do not return to me I will kill everyone in this town. Everyone you ever cared about. All those people you begged me to spare, will die. I think I’ll start with the Salvatore git and then move on to that teacher or perhaps his pretty girlfriend. And when I am done with them, when I have washed my sorrow away with their blood, I will lay waste to nations. And don’t think I can’t do it, little witch. Nothing can kill me now.”

When I still didn’t respond, he dropped his head on my chest. His shoulders shook as he silently wept. I wrapped my form around him though I knew he couldn’t feel me. His hand moved up to grasp the amulet as if to tear it from my body. Instead he released it as if unwilling to give up on it just yet.

I reached toward the amulet and energy flared from it. I stilled, held the breath I didn’t need on the Other Side. It couldn’t possibly be that simple. I laid my hand on top of the stone and energy buzzed through me, pulling at me. Closing my eyes, I focused on letting myself go, on letting the magic pull me back to my home, my hybrid. A sharp lance of pain stabbed through my hand and into the rest of my body. The whole world went white.

Suddenly, I was suffocating. My lungs were tight, making it impossible to breathe. Just when I thought I would die again, I gasped in a mouthful of air as my eyes flew open. Nik’s head jerked up and his eyes met mine. “Hello, oh great and mighty hybrid.”

He laughed and kissed me. I hurt everywhere and I felt empty, odd, but I didn’t want to dampen his elation. “Elijah!” he yelled then kissed me again. His eyes searched mine. “Don’t ever do that to me again, Cassie. I can’t take it.”

“Don’t do that to either of us,” Elijah said and I glanced over to see him standing at the foot of the couch. His eyes were red-rimmed but he was smiling.

“It’s not something I’m looking forward to repeating any time soon.” I had Nik help me sit up. “In fact, I’m certain I should just stay the hell out of the Other Side. Your mother keeps trying to kill me.”

They both frowned. Nik sat on the table in front of me and took my hands in his. “What do you mean, sweetheart?”

I sucked in a fortifying breath. “That night you had to rescue me? She was the one that cast the freezing spell. I believe she’s the reason we were unable to find the moonstone and also why you couldn’t locate me when I was missing. And she’s the reason I almost didn’t come back. She stripped the resurrection magic from me. The amulet only worked because it wasn’t there with me.”

If I thought I’d seen Nik at his angriest before, I was sorely mistaken. I rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. “She lost, Nik. You’re a true hybrid and I’m here. I came back. Don’t give her more power than she already has. Don’t give her your happiness.”

He nodded but I could tell he wasn’t finished stewing over his mother’s treachery. I leaned forward and rested my hand on the side of his face. “You threatened to kill everyone I love.” I saw Elijah step from the room out of the corner of my eye.

“I did.” He was completely unapologetic.

“You said you’d raze nations.”

“I would have.”

My voice dropped. “You said you loved me.” I still couldn’t believe he’d said it, even if I had been dead at the time.

His eyes met mine, joy replacing the lingering traces of sorrow and anger that had been there. “How could I not?”

Then my hybrid kissed me again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book 2 of this series is called Bound and will be posting soon.


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